Actress Sophia Bush is standing behind former One Tree Hill co-star Hilarie Burton after the new mum refused to attend an event for the show she found exploitative.
Burton took to Twitter on Tuesday (27Mar18) to share her discomfort with a convention for the drama series, which was held earlier this month (Mar18) in Wilmington, North Carolina - where the series was shot.
The star slammed bosses at Eyecon for promoting the cast appearance as a "girl power" event, finding it exploitative given the resent sexual harassment allegations brought against showrunner Mark Schwahn.
“I will not be attending any Eyecon events. Ever," she posted. "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.”
The stance prompted EyeCon organisers to defend themselves, slamming Burton in the process.
"@HilarieBurton ‘Girl Power Angle' WOW I'm part of the Eyecon company made up of mostly women and I'm on that ME TOO list! You know nothing about US or the women who help me get out of bed ever day so I can find myself again," one member fired back.
On Thursday (29Mar18), Bush spoke out in defence of Burton in a lengthy post on the social media site.
"Want to know why Hil said she feels exploited by this 'empowerment' con?" Bush wrote. "Well add my name to that hat. Because so do I. We told our stories. As a united front. We refused to let it get tabloidy (sic) and gross. And then suddenly a convention publicly announced that they want to empower women?
"They made an announcement without thinking of any of the women of One Tree Hill for a second. And now they are defending themselves by saying that Mark took advantage of them too? That he ruined their ability to watch a show which felt like their safe space. Well it HAPPENED to us."
Last November (17), Bush and Burton were among the former stars of One Tree Hill who signed an open letter detailing Schwahn's inappropriate behaviour on set. The allegations led to the writer and executive producer being suspended from his E! series The Royals.
