Struggling to believe Stranger Things' Jim Hopper as the 'good guy'? You're not alone

The first half of Stranger Things' final season has received almost 60 million views in five days – making it Netflix's largest ever English language debut.

But the reception has been marred by controversies surrounding actor David Harbour, who plays Jim Hopper, an ex-police chief in the fictional town of Hawkins, Indiana.

A little over a month ago, Harbour's ex-partner Lily Allen released West End Girl – her first full-length album in seven years. It's a blistering critique of her former partner of four years, in which she accuses him of cheating during their marriage.

West End Girl has been lapped up by critics, and although Harbour has yet to directly address Allen's claims, they have clearly left an impression on the public.

Online, Stranger Things viewers have pointed out they can no longer view Hopper – one of the "good guys" on the show – the way they did before Allen's accusations surfaced.

The public's reaction to the couple's highly publicised separation is an interesting case study into how social media platforms now shape celebrity culture.

Both Allen and Harbour are successful in their respective fields and have large online followings. They are connected to fans who appreciate their work – many of whom are invested in their personal lives.

And while such parasocial relationships between stars and fans have existed since the dawn of Hollywood, social media platforms are reconstructing what can be defined as "public" and "publicity" – as well as the counterpoints of "private" and "privacy”.

Today's platforms use algorithms to amplify subtle behaviours, interactions and personal qualities in celebrities that may have once flown under the radar.

Putting the magnifying glass on stars in this way helps us feel "closer" to them, further blurring the line between the person and their onscreen personas.

And this inability to separate both explains why numerous stars through the decades have opted to keep certain aspects of their identity (such as their sexuality) hidden.

Allen has used Instagram (where she has about two million followers) and TikTok (420,000 followers) to get word of her new album out. It's clear from her promotional material – and her history with social media – that she knows how to leverage an online audience.

Allen was already a hit on MySpace back in 2006. She had tens of thousands of "friends" on the then-ubiquitous platform, and sold about four million copies of her album Alright, Still (2006) in the first week of its release.

Harbour also has a huge online presence, including some 8.4 million Instagram followers. Interestingly, though, he has been relatively silent about the breakdown of his marriage.

He is now also the subject of headlines focused on allegations, first published in a Daily Mail report, that Stranger Things co-star Millie Bobby Brown filed a bullying and harassment complaint against him before filming began in 2024.

In the recent press tour, Brown told outlets she "felt safe" and has a "great relationship" with Harbour. Still, the initial Daily Mail report seems to have taken root in coverage surrounding the tour.

Stardom has been transformed in the era of social media.

One question now is figuring out the extent to which scandals that are amplified by social media actually impact celebrities' careers, and how this compares to coverage in the pre-social media age.

If fans start to see Harbour as a "bad guy" because of the press and social media chatter, will this affect the quantity or types of roles he gets in the future?

And is it acceptable for social media platforms and influential users to have such outsized power in driving pop culture narratives?

On one hand, fans arguably deserve to know the character of the artists they choose to support.

On the other, it's concerning to think tabloids such as the Daily Mail could potentially derail someone's career using unverified reports and unnamed sources.

David Marshall is an Emeritus Professor of New Media, Communication and Cultural Studies at Deakin University.