Tuesday 29 November 2022 09:12 PM One Tree Hill actresses Sophia Bush and Hilarie Burton say they were ... trends now
One Tree Hill actresses Sophia Bush and Hilarie Burton have claimed they were strong-armed into doing their 2006 Maxim shoot while on the show.
Their co-star Bethany Joy Lenz added that she was told she was not appearing in the magazine with her colleagues because she was 'too fat.'
The women levelled the allegations against their old bosses on a new episode of their One Tree Hill re-watch podcast Drama Queens this Monday.
Five years ago, all three actresses joined a group of cast and crew who signed an open letter accusing One Tree Hill creator Mark Schwahn of sexual harassment.
Throwback: Sophia Bush (center) and Hilarie Burton (left) have claimed they were strong-armed into doing their 2006 Maxim shoot with their co-star Danneel Harris Ackles (right)
The cover starred Bush and Burton alongside their co-star Danneel Harris Ackles, as cross-promotion connected to an episode of One Tree Hill where Burton's character Brooke snaps Ackles' character Rachel for a 'Hometown Hotties' Maxim cover.
Their new podcast episode asserted that in the run-up to the Maxim shoot, the minds behind the show were concerned with ramping up its male viewership.
Bush said that 'we got told we had to do [Maxim], and I – because Brooke had been so sexualized on the show, and the whole idea of this like hometown hottie was Rachel’s storyline, I was like: “Look, if the girls wanna do it, that’s great. I don’t."'
She said she informed the brass: '"Like I have gone to battle trying to make Brooke less of this thing that you guys tried to force me into. I don’t wanna do it."'
Nowadays: Burton (left), Bush (right) and their old co-star Bethany Joy Lenz (center) made the allegations on their new podcast; they are all pictured together in September
Bush claimed that 'I literally got told: "If you do not go and shoot this cover with your co-stars, we will guarantee you that you will never be let out for a press day, a movie, an event, any of your charities. We will keep you here forever."'
As Lenz wondered where Bush's manager or lawyer was when negotiations were underway, Burton darkly brought up the 'leverage' their bosses had.
'I remember getting pulled into the production office,' said Burton: 'and I sat on a floor while our boss was on the couch as we were given this like very friendly soft pitch that was: "Look, all the other shows have been on the cover of every single magazine and no one wants you guys. No one wants you."'
According to Burton, she was told: '"And you finally have someone that wants you and you’re really gonna turn your nose up at that?"'
They way they were: Bush, Lenz and Burton are pictured together in a publicity shot for the show during its run, which lasted from 2003 to 2012
She noted that 'we were on the bubble every year, and we were assured that Maxim had just been purchased by a new parent company and they had British ownership now - so they’re classing up the joint - and that it was run predominantly by women.'
Burton said of the girlie mag offer that 'we had said no to that for years, for years! But it was very much a: "No one else wants you. The studio wants to cancel your show. If you don’t start to generate some buzz and attract these male numbers, then we’re dead and all your friends are gonna lose their jobs."'
'And it'll be your fault,' Bush added, explaining that their employers would be able to punitively keep her on set even on days she was not scheduled to shoot by booking her in for other
