Mischa Barton has claimed she experienced some "general bullying" on the set of 'The O.C.'
Mischa Barton
The 35-year-old actress - who played Marissa Cooper on the Fox series - has admitted her time on the set wasn't always enjoyable as she opened up about the bullying she received and confessed that she felt "very unprotected" at times whilst working on the programme.
She said: "It's a bit complicated. It started pretty early on because it had a lot to do with them adding Rachel [Bilson] in last minute as, after the first season, a series regular and evening out everybody's pay - and sort of general bullying from some of the men on set that kind of felt really s*****. But, you know, I also loved the show and had to build up my own walls and ways of getting around dealing with that and the fame that was thrust specifically at me. Just dealing with like the amount of invasion I was having in my personal life, I just felt very unprotected, I guess is the best way to put it."
Mischa admits she felt "ashamed" before now about talking about what happened.
She added: "I've always felt ashamed in a way to really talk about what went on behind the scenes because I've always been a very private person and very aware of people's feelings. Now that we're living in this era where we do speak out about our experiences and women do come clean about what was really going on behind the scenes and how they were treated, it's a slightly different thing."
Mischa insists leaving the show after its third season was the "best thing" for her and her health.
Speaking to E! News, she shared: "I was getting offers from big films at the time and having to turn them down. I had always been supporting in The Sixth Sense and any of those things. My dream was to be offered those lead roles, so that's what happened. It just felt like it was the best thing for me and my health and just in terms of not really feeling protected by my cast and crew at that point."
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