Sophia Bush‘s decision to exit Chicago P.D. came as a surprise — but what led to her departure?
Bush played detective Erin Lindsay on four seasons of the Chicago Fire spinoff before deciding to leave the show in 2017. She later hinted at experiencing abusive behavior from an unnamed costar.
The actress shared more details about her time on the show in her new memoir, And I Will Tell You Mine: Notes From a Life in Progress. Bush elaborated more about what transpired behind the scenes — but there were still some details she chose to leave out.
“There are 200 people that I care very much about, whose jobs are the lifeline for their families. It’s not my place to choose when to speak for other people who aren’t ready and might not ever be,” she told Variety in October 2026 about which parts of her story were included. “That’s part of the reason it took us so long after Wilmington. It takes people a lot of time, and I think that’s OK. I think this reaction that women aren’t allowed to speak after a certain amount of time is so strange.”
Bush further told Entertainment Weekly her memoir had “an investigative reporting version” about her time on Chicago P.D., explaining, “What I realized was the most important thing I could offer anyone was how I processed something for myself, how I actually came to terms with admitting how deep that imprint went — that was actually the worst one of my life for me.”
Scroll down for a full breakdown of Bush’s exit:
How Long Was Sophia Bush on ‘Chicago P.D.’?
Chicago P.D. premiered in 2014 as a spinoff of Chicago Fire. It follows the uniformed patrol officers and the Intelligence Unit of the 21st District of the Chicago Police Department as they pursue the perpetrators of the city’s major street offenses.
Bush joined the show as Erin during season 1. She filmed four seasons before announcing her exit in 2017.
Did Sophia Bush Reveal Why She Left ‘Chicago P.D.’?
In the years since her departure, Bush opened up about dealing with a toxic environment on set — including alleged abuse.
“An inappropriate comment. A raised voice. A hair pull. A held breath. A clenched jaw. A clenched fist. Fist connecting with flesh. And then, worse. Much worse,” she wrote in her 2026 memoir, And I Will Tell You Mine. “Things done when there were fewer people in the room, but the rooms were never empty. Averted eyes, silenced protests, and whispers when something went wrong. Knowing our set was the one talked about on all the others. Bracing for conflict, for screaming, for humiliation when something, anything, triggered outsized rage.”
Bush wrote that she cut her hair shorter and shorter to avoid hair pulls, tried to make “less noise” and ignored the instinct to leave despite having physical symptoms of stress including hives, weight fluctuations and more.
“At the time, nobody knew. Not really. Not enough. That’s what I told myself, anyway. I’ve been told I am alarmingly high functioning, but up until then, I had just called it ‘being a professional,’” she wrote. “I’d learned it on my first show: Put the job, the family, above all else, and never let a guy who can’t control himself ding your work ethic or your integrity. You can take it. I’d had a few years of lovely sets in between, but a decade of training never leaves you — and in this heightened version of having my ability to perform tested? I snapped right back into that rhythm.”
Has Sophia Bush Named the Costar She Had Issues With on Set?
Bush hasn’t identified the individual outright, but amid the allegations, news broke that Jason Beghe was investigated by NBC for volatile behavior and offensive comments.
“I am deeply sorry for my behavior, which I know has been hurtful to my friends and colleagues,” he said in a 2017 statement. “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. It is a source of great pride for me to be part of Chicago P.D.’s incredible cast and crew. I have personally apologized to anyone who I have upset, and I am committed to doing what is necessary to make up any damage that I may have caused.”
In her book, Bush recalled receiving a text from “him” the day an article ran about the investigation that took place on set.
“My stomach dropped when I saw his name on my lock screen,” she wrote. “I wondered what he could possibly want to say to me. I opened it and saw the message only contained the link to the clean-up piece. No other words. As if my boogeyman on the other end was saying, ‘Gotcha, you f***ing little bitch,’ as he’d called me more than once at work. The article contained an assertion that he was remorseful and he’d apologized to everyone he’d hurt. Not to me, I thought. Not ever. Not that it mattered. I was done holding my breath.”
Beghe, for his part, hasn’t publicly addressed Bush’s claims.
What Have Sophia Bush’s Former Costars Say About Her Exit?
Bush’s former coworkers have praised her time on the show but also acknowledged how her exit shifted the narrative. Jesse Lee Soffer, who dated Bush while they played love interests on the show, specifically called the actress’ departure “sad.”
“It’s hard. When someone leaves a show that was there from the beginning and we were a big family,” he told The Hollywood Reporter in 2017. “It’s kind of like doing a new show a little bit. It’s like, what is it going to feel like now? What is the scene going to play like? What’s my character going to be doing? … It’s definitely been difficult but the show must go on.”
Has Sophia Bush Returned to ‘Chicago P.D.’?
Bush has never reprised her role on Chicago P.D. Beghe, meanwhile, is still on the show.
