Lily Allen responds to David Harbour's comments about her break-up album West End Girl after he called it 'weird' and said it 'wasn't his experience'

Lily Allen has responded to her ex-husband David Harbour's remarks about her 'weird' break-up album West End Girl, which details their marriage breakdown.

The Stranger Things actor, 51, said that while he 'respects' Lily's right to talk about their relationship in her music, he did not feel like he 'had the same experience'. 

Months on, Lily has had her say on the comments in an interview with The Cut, where she branded his opinion 'generous' and complimented his acting ability.

When asked about her former partner's comments, she said: 'I think that was a generous thing for him to say. He's having a real moment of success as well, right?

'He's been nominated for an Emmy, and it's great. We're all doing our own thing, and we're all doing what we're supposed to do. If there's one thing I know about David Harbour, it's that he's an excellent actor.'

The day after Lily's interview was published online, David received the Emmy for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Limited or Anthology Series or Movie for playing Floyd Smernitch in HBO's DTF St. Louis. 

David offered his verdict on his ex-wife's break-up album during an interview with Variety in June.

The album, which has lyrics on extramarital activity and emotional manipulation, is meant to tell the story of her break-up with David, with a bit of artistic license, but he doesn't see it that way.

He said: 'It was weird. I do believe that it is the privilege of every artist to use their experience to create art, and so I respect her for doing that. I can't really say that much more, because it's my private life.

'In spite of the fact that a lot of people don't allow me a private life — I value it. And I also value the lives of the people that I interact with privately. I just won't speak about that.

'Stories are complex, and that's why I say I respect her creation of art to channel her experience. It wasn't my experience.'

Lily's fans were not convinced her comments were without shade.

Sharing their thoughts on X, they said: 'Oop the shade-'; 'I didn't think it was Lily's words until I got to the last sentence. I was like 'ah there she is' lol'; 'He's an excellent actor'; 'If there's one think I know about David Harbour, it's that he is an excellent actor - still sounds like a swipe';

'The way she said generous like she was handing me a participation trophy after the album said everything else'; 'Ooh she understands the assignment';

'Generous is what you call the ex once the album has already said everything. She got the last word and the courtesy'; 'She spent a whole album cataloging this man, and the warmest thing she could dig up was "generous" and "excellent actor." Call it a truce if you want, it reads more like a receipt';

'I've ignored most of their drama but baby the shade with that "excellent actor" line ooo I have to her her 10s'; 'Oooh bish that excellent actor wasn't a compliment... ah love it';

'Lmao that last part sounds so shady lmaooo I don't even know if she genuinely meant it but I'm choosing to think it's shade lol.' 

Lily previously stressed that her 14-track album, which was written in ten days last December, consists of a 'mixture of fact and fiction', adding that fans shouldn't take the lyrics and their meaning as 'gospel'. 

Most notably her hit Madeline saw Lily accuse David of having a three-year affair with a younger costume designer as she appeared to suggest the couple had an open arrangement in regards to sex, as long as it was discrete and not based on emotional connection.

Meanwhile in the song Tennis, Lily uses the racket sport as a metaphor for sex as she sings: 'So I read your text, and now I regret it.

'I can't get my head round how you've been playing tennis/ If it was just sex I wouldn't be jealous. You won't play with me and who the f**k is Madeline?'

The song ends with an outro repeating: 'Da, da-da, da-da, who's Madeline? (Who's Madeline?)' before it ends with: 'No, but who is Madeline, actually?'

Lily and David met on Raya and married in Vegas in 2020, but legally separated in early 2025 after four years of marriage and their divorce proceedings followed shortly after.

West End Girl explores the emotional fallout of the split. Before her marriage to Harbour, Lily was married to builder Sam Cooper from 2011 until their divorce in 2018.