Sophia Bush Details ‘One Tree Hill’ Creator’s Sexual Harassment
Fans of One Tree Hill were discouraged to learn late last year that creator Mark Schwahn had been accused by many women — some who were part of the popular series — of sexual harassment.
These accusations lead to Schwahn’s firing from the E! series The Royals but the fallout continues. Now, Chicago P.D. star and OTH alum Sophia Bush is speaking out about her experience with her former boss on-set.
Bush, who is currently promoting her voice role in Disney-Pixar’s The Incredibles 2, spoke candidly with Bravo’s Andy Cohen for his SiriusXM radio show, painting an unpleasant picture for all involved. “Yeah, look, my mom is a crazy Italian lady from New Jersey,” she told Cohen. “The first time Mark Schwahn grabbed my ass I hit him in front of six other producers and I hit him f**king hard.”
The actress added that she wasn’t the only actress Schwahn targeted, noting that he was particularly obsessed with one of the girls. “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,” she recalled, “that he started trying to bang down her hotel room door in the middle of the night.”
Things apparently escalated to a volatile point. “She had to be moved, her rooms were moved. And then her boyfriend came and stayed with her the next month,” Bush revealed. “It almost came to fisticuffs between the two of them.”
She described her experience of being on the show both good and bad, as Schwahn wasn’t always on-set. “The whole time you’re a kid who is going, ‘I gotta figure out how to protect my friends, and I don’t want to lose my job and I don’t want every person on our crew to lose their jobs,'” she admitted.
As to why she didn’t leave the show, Bush said that decision is easier said than done. “First of all, why am I supposed to suffer and kill my own career because somebody else can’t keep their d**k in their pants?” Bush asked. “Second of all, there is a whole crew that people don’t know about.”
That crew, she continued to say, was one of the biggest reasons to stick around. This spurred her to address Roseanne Barr, whose actions recently cost the rest of the Roseanne cast and crew their jobs. “It’s the reason I am angry about Roseanne being hired back to TV at all,” she started. “Two hundred people lost their jobs because she is a psychotic racist. There are people who have families, there are cameramen who are wondering how they’re going to pay their kids’ school tuition now”
After the interview aired, Bush’s former co-star Hilarie Burton — who also accused Schwahn of harassment — tweeted her support.
My soul sister. @SophiaBush
I love you, ya gutsy, no bullshit broad! https://t.co/EBHBCbdC10— Hilarie Burton (@HilarieBurton) June 14, 2018
Both actresses were among the first to call out Schwahn when his behavior was first revealed.
43 women came forward. To the ones who did and to the ones who didn’t or couldn’t, I hope this news is a salve to your souls.
To the other predators out there? I hope this is a lesson that sometimes, even if it takes time, justice is served. You’re next. https://t.co/Vq5R0obvjK
— Sophia Bush (@SophiaBush) December 21, 2017
For the full interview with Cohen, click on the video below:
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