The former host of MTV's 'Total Request Live' reflects on the 'age-old lesson' she's gotten from speaking out against the alleged abuse on the set of her CW television show.
- Jun 18, 2023
AceShowbiz - Hilarie Burton felt liberated after speaking out against the alleged abuse on the set of "One Tree Hill". The actress, who shares two children with her "Watchmen" actor husband Jeffrey Dean Morgan, 57, played singer Peyton Sawyer on the popular teen drama for six seasons, and was one of 17 other women - including her co-stars Sophia Bush, 40, and 42-year-old Bethany Joy Lenz - who in 2017 accused the show's creator, Mark Schwahn, 56, of sexual harassment during its making.
"It is an age-old lesson, that honesty is always better, it sets you free. I think when you're young, you're led to believe that keeping quiet about things is how you protect people you care about, and what I've learned is that speaking up is way better," she told Page Six at the Tribeca Festival premiere of "The Walking Dead: Dead City" about making the accusation.
"One Tree Hill" aired from 2003 to 2006 and Hilarie and her fellow accusers said in a letter TV executive Mark's behaviour was so extreme it forced some to seek treatment for PTSD. It said, "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."
Mark has never personally addressed the allegations made against him.
Hilarie also told Page Six she runs her "mouth about a lot of stuff" and has also been outspoken about other issues including the time a video resurfaced of Ben Affleck groping her during an appearance on MTV's "Total Request Live".
After the clip went viral in 2017, the actress tweeted that she hadn't forgotten about the incident and added, "I was a kid." Ben, 50, later apologised for his behaviour, tweeting, "I acted inappropriately toward Ms. Burton and I sincerely apologise."
