One Tree Hill Cast: Male Actors Of The Show Support Their Female Costars After Accusing Creator Mark Schwahn Of Sexual Harassment
The Weinstein scandal continues to make a ripple effect in the industry as more actresses and actors are speaking up about the harassment they've sustained in their careers. Now, the leading ladies of another CW show is bringing to the light the truth behind what happened on set and they have their male counterparts fully supporting them.
The teen-soap drama, One Tree Hill, was one the most popular and long running series on the CW. For the first few seasons, we watched two brothers (Chad Michael Murray and James Lafferty) fight for the affection of their father while dealing with their complicated love lives. The show took a darker turn when the subjects of infidelity, teen pregnancy, murder, and assault became a theme in certain episodes. After eight successful seasons and a couple of beloved characters departing the show, One Tree Hill ended and the cast has moved on to bigger and better things.
Recently, the leading actresses of One Tree Hill came together and are speaking up about unpleasant experiences they've suffered from the show's creator, Mark Schwahn. Sophia Bush (Brooke Davis), Bethany Joy Lenz (Hayley James Scott), and Hilarie Burton (Peyton Sawyer), wrote a letter about what they endured with the creator and their struggle to come forward with the revelation.
"Many of us were, to varying degrees, manipulated psychologically and emotionally. More than one of us is still in treatment for post-traumatic stress. Many of us were put in uncomfortable positions and had to swiftly learn to fight back, sometimes physically, because it was made clear to us that the supervisors in the room were not the protectors they were supposed to be," the letter read.
Shortly after the ladies bravely named Schwahn as the man behind their traumatic experiences, their former co-stars, including Lafferty (Nathan Scott), Lee Norris (Mouth McFadden), Antwon Tanner (Skills Taylor) and Austin Nichols (Julian Baker) all showed their support on social media for the friends and co-workers.
"I applaud every woman on OTH, every woman on earth, who stands up to a system that has failed them in the past and in this moment. I stand with them," Lafferty tweeted.
Murray hasn't provided a comment at the moment.
Schwahn was also the co-writer for the movies: Coach Carter (2005), The Perfect Score (2004) and Whatever It Takes (2000). He was also the creator and producer for the E! show, The Royals.
Schwahn hasn't responded to the allegations against him.
The writer is one of the plethora of men in the entertainment industry that have been accused of sexual assault or misconduct by their former employees. Harvey Weinstein, Brett Ratner, and Louis C.K. have all been accused by certain actresses that worked with them in the past. C.K, has issued an apology to the women who implicated him as their attacker while Ratner and Weinstein plan to fight the allegations.
