Mischa Barton has said bullying led her to leaving The OC, saying men on set were 'very mean' to her. The actress sensationally quit left the show in 2006, with her character Marissa Cooper being killed off. But she has now revealed the real reason she left the drama which followed the lives of wealthy teens in Newport Beach, Orange County, California.
The actress told E! News, ‘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 shitty.'
‘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,' she said. '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.’ She also told the publication, 'There were people on that set that were very mean to me.'
The OC, created by Josh Schwartz, starred names such as Adam Brody, Rachel Bilson and Ben McKenzie. Josh spoke about Mischa's exit in 2017 to the Daily Beast, saying there was a 'complicated chemistry with the cast'. 'Mischa didn’t want off the show anymore than any of the other kids wanted off the show,' he said. 'It was a complicated chemistry with the cast… But she certainly wasn’t actively seeking to leave the show.'
Grazia has contacted Warner Bros for comment.
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