Sophia Bush says she was told to pick between speaking out about One Tree Hill or Chicago P.D. misconduct

Sophia Bush says she was advised to choose between speaking up about misconduct on the set of One Tree Hill or Chicago P.D. out of concern that it would look like it was her fault.

The actress revealed that she was told to make the decision while she and fellow One Tree Hill cast and crew members were in the process of penning a letter that accused series creator Mark Schwahn of sexual harassment and physical and emotional manipulation in November 2017. At the same time, Bush's Chicago P.D. costar Jason Beghe was also under investigation following accusations of inappropriate behavior on set.

"When #MeToo was breaking that October, a story was coming out about my coworker in Chicago," Bush recalled on Monday's episode of the Drama Queens podcast, which she hosts with Hilarie Burton and Bethany Joy Lenz. "My rep said to me, 'You're going to have to pick. You can either tell the story about your first boss or you can tell the story about your coworker, but you can't tell both because then it looks like it's your fault.' That was professional advice."

Presley Ann/Getty Images Sophia Bush

In the end, Bush ended up lending her voice alongside the fellow cast and crew of One Tree Hill and maintained she still stands by her decision. However, she added that it was important to continue to speak out about her Chicago P.D. experience too, despite what her former police procedural costars have to say about it.

"When people on that other job say, 'Why won't you stop talking about it?' or 'Why do you need to bring it up?' I'm like, 'You have no idea what I withheld that's benefitted you.' And in the same way we all feel about our boss on [One Tree Hill]...I'm not going to be able to take this chip off my shoulder until you face some f---ing accountability," she stressed. "You got to do this thing. You got to scar all these women. You got to hurt all these people. You've left a body count in your wake of people who have to go to therapy and do all of this gnarly work — and we didn't ask for that."

Bush then urged the importance of accountability on all sets going forward. "I don't know what we're supposed to do that our boss was allowed to never make a comment," she said. "I don't know what I'm supposed to do that my next employers rebranded sexual assault with witnesses as 'anger management issues' in the press."

In 2017, Variety reported that NBC had opened an investigation into Beghe's actions on set after receiving several complaints of "volatile behavior" and "offensive comments" a year prior. Since the launch of the investigation, the outlet added, Beghe had received a coach to help with his anger management problems and had no additional complaints over the next six months.

"When it was brought to our attention that there were concerns about inappropriate behavior on set, we promptly began an investigation in partnership with Human Resources and all parties involved," NBC, UTV, and Wolf Entertainment said in a statement to EW at the time. "As a result of the investigation, we have already taken action, and it is a situation we continue to monitor very closely to ensure all of our employees feel safe and supported."

Beghe apologized for his behavior in a statement to Variety, noting, "I have struggled with anger issues for some time, and over the past year, I have been working with a coach to help me learn how to mitigate my temper. It's an ongoing process, and it has been a humbling one."

Earlier in the episode, Bush was reminded of another Chicago P.D. experience after Burton recalled a time in which One Tree Hill creator Mark Schwahn, she claimed, yelled at her after she told him to stop touching the women on set. Burton claimed that multiple men, including her boyfriend at the time, were able to hear Schwahn screaming at her but did not intervene.

"What you experienced that night, the way you got yelled at, that's exactly the s--- I was dealing with in Chicago and also had a group of men who were like, 'I love you so much, you're our best friend.' [They] never got involved and never stood up," Bush said. "And I know some of them are mad that I acknowledge that when we talk about this show as well, and you know what? I don't care. That fear that I'm going to keep talking about it better be what makes you behave better on every set you're on. From the time that you left North Carolina, the time I left Illinois, they better behave better. They better be a little afraid."

Bush joined the cast of Chicago P.D. in 2014 and left at the end of the fourth season in 2017, noting on Instagram at the time that it took her "a long time and a lot of hard work to get out of that show." She added, "Please don't demean my capabilities by degrading my position. I left because I wanted to. End of story."

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