TV star Sophia Bush opens up about her experiences on various TV show sets, labeling them as ones that fostered abusive work environments.
In a revealing chat on the Reclaiming With Monica Lewinsky podcast, Sophia Bush spills the beans about a horrid episode in her acting career. This distressing phase took shape during her tenure on a TV series, not long after her nine-year stint on One Tree Hill. Although she didn't mention the show by name, it seems likely it was Chicago P.D., where she portrayed Erin Lindsay from 2014 to 2017.
Bush, 42, poured her heart out about a toxic relationship with an older colleague that spiraled into a living nightmare. "It's like a nightmare I couldn't wake up from. I was on tenterhooks all the time, wondering, 'What the hell is happening?'" she confessed.
The dynamics with this older man, who could've passed for her dad, led to an ongoing trauma that left her reeling. When Lewinsky asked if it was emotionally abusive in a professional setting, Bush responded bluntly, "every kind of abusive."
Reflecting on her decision to stay put despite the abuse, Bush admitted that patterns from her early career held her back. "I had the chance to bolt after two years but I didn't. I had this ingrained notion that I couldn't allow someone else's shady behavior to taint my reputation or make me less of an actor," she explained.
This emotional turmoil took a significant toll on her physical health. For two years, she recounted, she was plagued with spontaneous illnesses, covered in hives, experienced crazy weight fluctuations, and lost chunks of hair. To make matters worse, she developed insomnia and crippling anxiety.
"The anxiety was so bad that I'd freak out just by someone touching me in public," she divulged. "Even talking to strangers or being seen by others made me want to crawl out of my skin." Bush labeled the experience as a "physical attack" on her body.
To avoid physical discomfort on set, she had to remain constantly on guard, learning tricks to dodge elbows and block scenes. "I was always at war. I had to learn where to stand and how to arrange scenes to avoid being groped," she detailed.
Bush finally bailed in April 2017, just months before the #MeToo movement exploded. Surprisingly, she received an apology call from a network executive months later, admitting they were aware of the situation.
"By October [2017], I got a call from a top-brass executive admitting their part in what happened and what didn't happen," Bush shared. "They said something along the lines of, 'Thank god we got away with it, you're in therapy now.'"
Despite keeping quiet about the real reason for her exit, Bush hinted at it in a 2017 UnStyled podcast interview with Refinery29. She disclosed that during the third and fourth seasons, she gave producers an ultimatum, either improve the environment or write her off.
"It was then that I realized I'd been drowning. It was then that I knew just how miserable I was every time I clocked in," she confessed. "I had to respect myself in an environment where I didn't feel respected."
In the midst of her personal struggles, Sophia Bush expressed her desire for change in the entertainment industry, hoping that her story would resonate with other celebrities and people across the world, advocating for a more supportive and respectful environment for everyone, especially women. The impact of this movement, initiated by Bush and other courageous women, would eventually shake the very foundations of Hollywood, inspiring a global conversation about sexual harassment and misconduct, ensuring a safer world for future generations of entertainers and celebrities.
