"One Tree Hill" Actor Sophia Bush Says She And Other Actors In The 2000s Were "Fetishized"

    The actor behind Brooke Davis describes a "really controlling and manipulative" culture behind the scenes.

    maria sherman
    by maria sherman

    BuzzFeed Staff

    You know actor Sophia Bush.

    Who could forget her legendary roles in John Tucker Must Die, The Hitcher, The Narrows, or... Incredibles 2?!

    On set of John Tucker Must Die, Ashanti, Sophia Bush, and Arielle Kebbel smile at each other, Brittany Snow is seen on a computer monitor
    20th Cent. Fox / Via Everett Collection

    She was also totally badass as Erin Lindsay on Chicago P.D.

    Erin Lindsay (Sophia Bush) looks concerned, making eye contact with a man off-screen.
    NBC / Via Peacock

    And most importantly, she portrayed the extremely cool Brooke Davis on the iconic teen drama One Tree Hill.

    The WB/CW / Via Hulu

    But, according to Bush, One Tree Hill wasn't glamorous behind the scenes.

    The cast of One Tree Hill sit at the dinner table together: Sophia Bush, Austin Nichols, Kate Voegele, Bethany Joy Galeotti, Daphne Zuniga, and James Lafferty
    CW Network / Via Everett Collection

    In an interview with Barstool Sports' Chicks in the Office podcast, Bush described working in that time to be "scary and intimidating and confusing."

    On the set of One Tree Hill, actor Austin Nichols holds a concerned-looking Sophia Bush
    CW Network / Via Everett Collection

    “We were in our early twenties playing high school kids, but we didn’t know anything. We were babies."

    "We didn’t get to grow up on a set where people wanted to answer our questions or help us navigate any of the madness of the early aughts," she said.

    On set of One Tree Hill, actors Sophia Bush and Hilarie Burton smile, dressed up in club attire
    CW Network / Via Everett Collection

    "And it was madness. ... It was weird because, in some ways, we were treated like adults."

    "Looking back on it, we can see the ways in which we were fetishized," she continued.

    On the set of One Tree Hill, actors Sophia Bush and Stephen Colletti smirk, both looking off to the left
    CW Network / Via Everett Collection

    "We had this lens of adultification put over us — this idea that we were supposed to know everything and have answers, and be, ultimately, professional when we didn’t even know what the technical terms were."

    “We were kind of looked at as pawns. We had grown-ups who we trusted, who now we understand were being really controlling and manipulative," she said.

    On the set of One Tree Hill, Sophia Bush sits on a couch, clutching a monkey stuffed animal, looking concerned
    CW Network / Via Everett Collection

    Grown-ups "who didn’t want us to be close because they thought we would band together and ask for more money," she said. "Those were not things we were aware of at the time."

    And so, now, a decade removed from One Tree Hill, Bush makes sure her sets are "really fun and expansive...because I know what it feels like when it isn't."

    Sophia Bush poses on the set of One Tree Hill, staring straight into the camera
    Warner Bros / Via Everett Collection

    Watch the full podcast interview below.

    View this video on YouTube
    Chicks in the Office / Via youtube.com