'One Tree Hill' stars Sophia Bush and Hilarie Burton claim they were 'threatened' to do 2006 Maxim shoot
LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA: 'One Tree Hill' actresses Sophia Bush and Hilarie Burton have alleged that they were forced into doing their 2006 Maxim shoot while on the show. Their co-star Bethany Joy Lenz added that she was informed that she was not appearing in the magazine with their fellow workers as she was 'too fat.' On Monday, November 28, on a new episode of their 'One Tree Hill' re-watch podcast Drama Queens, the women brought the allegations against their old bosses.
All three performers joined a group of cast and crew five years ago who signed an open letter blaming 'One Tree Hill' creator Mark Schwahn of sexual harassment. Alongside co-star, Danneel Harris Ackles starred Bush and Burton as cross-promotion to an episode of 'One Tree Hill' where Burton's character Brooke snaps Ackles' character Rachel for a 'Hometown Hotties' Maxim cover. Bush said that "we got told we had to do [Maxim], and I – because Brooke had been so sexualized on the show, and the whole idea of this like hometown hottie was Rachel’s storyline, I was like: 'Look, if the girls wanna do it, that’s great. I don’t"', according to Daily Mail.
READ MORE
She said, '"Like I have gone to battle trying to make Brooke less of this thing that you guys tried to force me into. I don’t wanna do it," further claiming that "I literally got told: 'If you do not go and shoot this cover with your co-stars, we will guarantee you that you will never be let out for a press day, a movie, an event, any of your charities. We will keep you here forever."' Burton darkly brought up the 'leverage' their bosses had as Lenz conjectured about the whereabouts of Bush's manager or lawyer when negotiations were underway.
"I remember getting pulled into the production office," said Burton "and I sat on a floor while our boss was on the couch as we were given this like very friendly soft pitch that was: 'Look, all the other shows have been on the cover of every single magazine and no one wants you guys. No one wants you."' According to Burton, she was told, '"And you finally have someone that wants you and you’re really gonna turn your nose up at that?"'
She noted that "we were on the bubble every year, and we were assured that Maxim had just been purchased by a new parent company and they had British ownership now - so they’re classing up the joint - and that it was run predominantly by women." Burton said of the girlie mag offer that "we had said no to that for years, for years! But it was very much a: 'No one else wants you. The studio wants to cancel your show. If you don’t start to generate some buzz and attract these male numbers, then we’re dead and all your friends are gonna lose their jobs."'
"And it'll be your fault," Bush added, explaining that their employers would intentionally keep her on set even on days she was not scheduled to shoot by booking her in for other work-related commitments like wardrobe fittings. "It was such a profound threat,' said Bush: 'and a threat to like being able - honestly, even to have the ability to escape for a weekend a place that at this stage, like this season, I was leaving every chance I got."
She said, "I would come into work and do my job and then I wanted out. I wanted to go home, I wanted to be with my family, I wanted to be with my friends. I did not want to be on our set. It was not a safe place for me." She admitted having 'conflicting feelings' about the cover at the time, complicated by how 'beautiful' and 'stunning' she thought Ackles and Burton looked on set "and this should be so fun but it's miserable because we didn't choose it."
Burton said on the new podcast episode that Schwahn showed up on the set of the Maxim shoot. She previously claimed in Variety that he considered her as 'his muse' and kissed her on more than one occasion without her consent. "And he made a production out of giving me a present in front of Sophia and Danneel," said Burton. "It was an iPod that he had loaded with music he thought was applicable to me, and wanted Sophia to see it to put her in her place and he wanted Danneel to see it 'cause he was trying to make her jealous."
Bush recalled witnessing Burton 'burning with discomfort' and Burton shared how 'embarrassed' she felt at the spectacle unfolding in front of her co-stars. Lenz then claimed that due to her weight she was replaced by Ackles on the Maxim shoot. "They told me that they didn't come to me because I was too fat and I just wasn't like, I wasn't the hot girl, I wasn't like a hot girl on the show anymore," she said.
Lenz's bombshell surprised her co-stars and Burton exclaimed, "Joy, they told us they asked you and you said no!" Bush added that "when I said: 'I don't wanna do it,' I was like: 'But Joy's not doing it! She said no! Why does she get to say no?' And they go: 'Well, she said no so you have to say yes, and she said no first."'