One Tree Hill star Hilarie Burton claims ‘creepy’ boss ‘wrote himself into an episode just so they could hug’

Hilarie Burton has claimed that her “creepy” boss from the hit series One Tree Hill “wrote himself into an episode” so he could give her a hug.

The actress, 41, played singer Peyton Sawyer on the hit teen drama for six seasons.

In a new interview, without naming the man by name, Hilarie recalled how he forced the pair to hug despite not being able to speak to each other.

Speaking on Aug. 21 of her Drama Queens podcast with some of her co-stars, Hilarie recalled that the moment was “so creepy,” as she explained, “I didn’t talk to him in real life, and so he enrolled himself the episode where I hugged him.”

Co-star Sophia Bush asked, “Can you imagine Shonda Rhimes or Aaron Sorkin casting themselves in their own show?”

Small Screen Stars: One Tree Hill aired from 2003-2012 and followed the lives of a group of teenagers growing up in North Carolina. Hilarie (back row, center) played Peyton Sawyer

She explained how she felt a sense of security as family members worked on the show. “I got the script and was like, ‘Okay, it’s one day’s work. It’s just one day’s work,” she said.

“And you know, my friend’s father (Gregory Prange) directed, and my brother is on set.”

However, she added that she asked her father to come and stay that day because “it just wasn’t enough.”

‘My father sat behind the monitor all day, wasn’t that strange? Because he clearly wasn’t there to be friendly. He was just a presence.’

She recalled, “Between each take I would just go to the monitor and stand next to my dad, because you can’t touch me, you can’t engage me in a sidebar conversation, you can’t do anything.” that if I just joke with my father.’

Referring to her boss as the villain in Harry Potter, she continued, “Voldemort goes to the production office, where his office overlooks the parking lot, and my dad and (sound mixer Michael Rayle) then went to the crew parking lot. and pull out bullwhips and start doing all these tricks and cracking them really hard.

“It was like a message, like, ‘Hey, don’t.'”

One Tree Hill – which ran for nine seasons from 2003 to 2012 – was created by Mark Schwahn, who also appeared on the series as record store owner Max.

Hilarie was one of 18 women — including her co-stars Sophia Bush and Bethany Joy Lenz — who accused Schwahn, 56, of sexual harassment during its production in 2017.

In addition to the One Tree Hill cast, 25 women from Schwahn’s E! show The Royals, accused him of varying degrees of sexual misconduct.

Schwahn was subsequently fired as showrunner of The Royals.

Hilarie and her co-accusers said in a letter that TV executive Mark’s behavior was so extreme that some were forced to seek treatment for PTSD.

It read: “Many of us were manipulated, to varying degrees, psychologically and emotionally.

‘Several of us are still being treated for post-traumatic stress.

Iconic show: Hilarie is pictured with her co-stars James Lafferty, Bethany Joy Lenz, Sophia Bush and Chad Michael Murray in 2004

“Many of us got into awkward positions and had to quickly learn to fight back, sometimes physically, as we were made to understand that the supervisors in the room were not the protectors they were meant to be.”

Schwahn has never publicly responded to the allegations.

Hilarie previously admitted that she found it liberating to speak out against the alleged abuse.

She told Page Six at the 2023 Tribeca Festival about making the accusation, “It’s 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 the people you care about, and what I’ve learned is that speaking your mind is much better.”