Sophia Bush and her One Tree Hill co-stars are standing behind a female staff writer who recently recalled experiencing sexual harassment while working on the WB/CW drama.
Bush joined Hilarie Burton, Bethany Joy Lenz and 15 more One Tree Hill female cast and crew members in releasing a joint statement accusing series creator Mark Schwahn of sexual harassment, detailed by our sister site Variety, “to stand together in support of [One Tree Hill writer] Audrey Wauchope and one another.” Wachope took to Twitter over the weekend to share her first-hand account of harassment that she and writing partner Rachel Specter experienced.
Though Wauchope didn’t mention Schwahn by name in her tweets, she said the incidents occurred during her first writing job, which was One Tree Hill. She also made sure to clarify that she was not referring to Cougar Town, on which she and Specter also worked.
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Wauchope tweeted that the showrunner would routinely attempt to sit next to female staffers during meetings, put his arms around them and give them massages. “I know he did more but not to me so they’re not my stories to share,” she wrote.
Another disturbing recollection involved the showrunner showing nude photos of “an actress he was having an affair with” to male staffers. “Naked photos she didn’t know were being passed around. Naked photos they didn’t want to see.”
To top it all off, Wauchope said the showrunner chose not to attend a “mandatory” sexual harassment seminar organized by the studio.
Bush, Burton and Lenz offered tweets of support to Wauchope in the days following, applauding her bravery:
Schwahn is currently the showrunner of E!’s The Royals, heading into its fourth season. E! released a statement on Monday: “We are monitoring the information carefully. E!, Universal Cable Productions and Lionsgate Television are committed to providing a safe working environment in which everyone is treated respectfully and professionally.”
