One Tree Hill star Sophia Bush has spoken out about her time working with series creator Mark Schwahn following allegations of abuse.
In November 2017, Schwahn was accused of sexual harassment and physical and emotional manipulation by 18 female cast and crew members who worked on the noughties show.
Bush went into detail about the ongoing incident during her appearance on Andy Cohen’s SiriusXM show, Andy Cohen Live, stating that while there were definitely good times on set, “at times it really wasn’t.”
“Our writers room was in L.A., so we had plenty of time where [Schwahn] wasn’t on set. When you have to be on set day in and day out with somebody who is so vile, it’s a different story. So we had great highlight-reel, coming-of-age, rom-com s— together, and then we also had like, ‘Batten down the hatches, he’s coming.’ ”
She recalled a particular incident when she retaliated against the 51-year-old after he grabbed her from behind.
“My mom’s a crazy Italian lady from New Jersey. The first time Mark Schwahn grabbed my ass, I hit him in front of six other producers. And I hit him fucking hard.”
She also revealed that she was aware of the abuse that some of her co-stars were copping at the hands of the disgraced TV giant.
“You heard comments. We knew about things he’d say to people, we knew about the late-night texts, we knew when he was super-obsessed with one girl on our show that he started trying to bang down her hotel room door in the middle of the night. She had to be moved. Then her boyfriend came and stayed with her for the next month and literally, like, it almost came to fisticuffs between the two of them.”
Despite wanting to escape the abuse, Bush made the decision not to leave OTH as her role on the show was too important for her to walk away.
“Why am I supposed to suffer and kill my own career because somebody else can’t keep their dick in their pants? Second of all, there’s a whole crew people don’t know about.”
“It’s not fair to make everybody suffer because one person can’t rein their entitlement in. So for us, it was a lot of that.”
Schwahn, who has never publicly addressed the allegations, was subsequently fired from E! drama The Royals in December following a monthlong investigation into the harassment claims.
Bush went on to point out that the harassment that she and her co-stars experienced is rife within not just Hollywood, but all industries.
“We’re not the only group of girls that’s ever had a boss who is a pig.”
If you or someone you know is dealing with issues around sexual violence or workplace, domestic, family violence, you can call 1800 RESPECT on 1800 737 732, the Mens Helpline on 1300 78 99 78, or the Kids Helpline (ages 5 to 25) on 1800 55 1800. If you are in distress, please call Lifeline on 13 11 14.
