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Sophia Bush Stands With Hilarie Burton Over ‘Exploitative’ ‘One Tree Hill’ Convention Theme  

Hilarie Burton and Sophia Bush during CW Launch 2006 Party in Burbank, California.
Hilarie Burton and Sophia Bush during CW Launch 2006 Party in Burbank, California.Chris Polk/FilmMagic

B. Davis still has P. Sawyer’s back. Sophia Bush defended her former One Tree Hill costar Hilarie Burton after the latter got backlash from social media users for saying she felt “exploited” by an upcoming “girl power” themed fan convention.

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“I’m sorry Mary. I will not be attending any Eyecon events. Ever. I personally feel exploited by their ‘girl power’ angle, which exists at the expense of some of us who went through a difficult time on that show. They’re using our sisterhood as a sales gimmick. No thanks,” Burton tweeted in response to a fan asking if she would attend EyeCon to celebrate “the brave women of OTH.”

As previously reported, 18 members of the cast and crew of One Tree Hill wrote a letter published by Variety in November 2017 accusing OTH show runner Mark Schwahn of sexual harassment during the filming of the series, which aired from 2003 to 2012.

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After Burton, 35, got backlash from EyeCon for criticizing the theme, Bush was quick to come to her defense.

“Let’s get real clear, real quick. Hilarie Burton is my sister. She is a big-hearted, brilliant, thoughtful, incredible human. She has had laser sharp, clearly defined integrity running up her spine as long as I have known her,” Bush, also 35, began in a lengthy statement on Thursday, March 29, via Twitter. “She is a human being. She has feelings. She is entitled to her OWN OPINIONS. She does not make statements hastily. She didn’t say something about a business situation and the way that it was handled that was ‘based on emotion, not logic.’ And the fact that a ‘business organization’ would DARE to say such a thing has a fire burning in me.”

“You want to throw a ‘women’s empowerment’ event but bash a woman who said that the way it’s been handled doesn’t feel good to her? A woman whose personal victimization took the world’s stage this past fall? Whose sisterhood circled around her, and each other, to see to it that he be stopped from treating other women in such a way? How. Dare. You,” the Chicago P.D. alum continued. “Want to know why Hil said she feels exploited by this ’empowerment’ con? Well add my name to that hat. Because so do I. We told our stories. As a united front … Now, that would have been FINE – lovely, even – IF THEY HAD SPOKEN TO US ABOUT THIS. Had they called our reps and said, ‘as fellow victims in our own individual ways, we want to make the next con all about women, and raise money for women’s charities.’ They did not.”

According to Bush, EyeCon organizers said they too had past experiences with sexual misconduct. “They are also now saying that because they too have stories from their own lives, they couldn’t have possibly pounced on the business opportunity of capitalizing on our experiences. And my heart breaks for their past pain. But those painful realities are not mutually exclusive from a clear business opportunity,” she explained. “None of those deeply personal experiences of the women behind the scenes of this event will be asked about in Q&As. None of those women will be asked to expand in front of an audience about what MeToo means to them.”

The John Tucker Must Die actress added that EyeCon invited a male guest to the convention who has been accused of inappropriate behavior.

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“Don’t even get me started on the reality – which I know for a FACT – that multiple women reported a male guest at these conventions behaving inappropriately and this ‘organization’ did NOTHING,” Bush wrote. “He was invited back multiple times, until more than one of us women was alerted and then jointly said expressly that we would never do another con if he were present. Again. FACT.”

Burton thanked Bush for coming to her defense, and even shared a photo of their characters from the series: “@SophiaBush is a WOMAN. My woman. I love her so hard. She is the kindest and most generous and supremely honest. Thanks for always being my ride or die, sis. Xxxx.”

EyeCon also released a statement about the situation. “I apologize intently for that to whomever has been harmed. I had the best intentions. It was an honest mistake … I, and my staff, are on the side of the abused and that’s not just rhetoric, we really mean it,” the statement read in part.

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