Sophia Bush has come forward with allegations of abuse on the set of a television show, claiming she experienced “every kind of abusive” treatment during her time on the program.
The actress made the claims during an episode of Monica Lewinsky’s podcast Reclaiming, which was released on Tuesday.
While she did not name the specific show, context clues suggest she was referring to her time on NBC’s hit procedural Chicago P.D., where she played Detective Erin Lindsay.
Bush left the show after 84 episodes and has previously described it as a grueling experience. “I was in this great place [after One Tree Hill], and I was ready for what was next,” Bush said. “And I did this comedy that I loved … for CBS. Then I went to work on this other show that was on my bucket list and then I had this whole other trauma.”
The actress alleged that she experienced “professional — and every kind of abusive” treatment on set. She described the experience as “physical hell,” citing spontaneous illness, hives, weight fluctuations, hair loss, insomnia, and crippling anxiety.
“I had to go to work ready for war all the time,” she said. “I had to learn how to block a scene in order not to be touched.”
She left the series in April 2017, just before the rise of the #MeToo movement. That October, she received an apologetic phone call from an executive. “I got a call from an executive apologizing for what they had done and not done,” she said. “And [the executive] said, ‘We’re very aware that we just made it out of that unscathed.'”
Moreover, Bush revealed that she was diagnosed with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) after leaving the show. “I’m in so much therapy,” she said. “I’m thrilled you guys didn’t get dragged through the press, that’s great.”
For work front, Bush has since returned to broadcast television with a recurring guest role on ABC’s Grey’s Anatomy.
