Sophia Bush Reveals Harrowing Experience of Abuse and Toxicity on Her ‘Bucket List’ Show

In a candid and heartfelt interview, actress Sophia Bush opened up about enduring “every kind” of abuse while working in a toxic environment on her post-One Tree Hill television series, widely believed to be the NBC police drama Chicago P.D..

Bush, 42, spoke on the recent episode of Reclaiming with Monica Lewinsky, revealing that after her nine-year run on One Tree Hill ended in 2012, she eagerly joined a new show, only to find herself trapped in a nightmare. Though she did not explicitly name the series during the interview, she had joined Chicago P.D. in 2014 and abruptly left the show in 2017.

“I suffered abuse by someone old enough to be my father,” Bush disclosed during the conversation with Lewinsky. Reflecting on the ordeal, she said, “When I look back at it, I had the opportunity after two years to go. I did the thing I learned to do and said, ‘I will not have my integrity diminished by someone else’s behavior. I will be unflappable. I will come to work and do my job.’ And I couldn’t.”

Bush described her time on set as “physical hell,” suffering from “spontaneous” illnesses, hives, hair loss, and severe weight fluctuations. She also detailed her struggle with anxiety, explaining, “As an extrovert who loves people, to be hit with anxiety in such a way that I could barely be out of the house; if people touched me in public, I would jump out of my skin.”

The actress recounted how she became constantly defensive, “I had to go to work ready for war all the time. I had to learn where to stand to not get elbowed in the ribs or how to block a scene to not be touched.” She called the experience “just exhausting.”

Sophia Bush revealed that she wasn’t able to exit the toxic environment until April 2017, just before the #MeToo movement began to gain widespread momentum. Later that year, in October, she received a call from an executive apologizing for the mishandling of her situation. “We’re very aware we just made it out of that unscathed,” Bush quoted the executive as saying.

Bush had previously discussed her struggles on Chicago P.D. in a 2017 interview on Refinery29’s UnStyled podcast. She recalled a pivotal conversation with the show’s executives between Seasons 3 and 4, stating, “If something really drastic doesn’t change, I’m leaving at the end of the year.” She gave them “23 episodes notice” in a measured and calm manner, aiming to avoid being dismissed as an “irrational female.”

“I’m literally sitting in front of you like cool as a cucumber,” Bush said. “If this has to be like a big swinging d— competition, I promise you I will win. But know this now: if we’re not having a very different conversation by Christmas, then you know with 100 percent certainty in December that come the end of April I’m leaving.”

Her revelations add to the growing awareness of toxic workplace environments in Hollywood and the ongoing struggle many actors face behind the scenes. Sophia Bush’s bravery in speaking out shines a light on the urgent need for safer, more respectful workplaces in the entertainment industry.