Mischa Barton left “The O.C.” when her character, Marissa Cooper, was killed off in the third season finale in 2006.
15 years later, Mischa Barton opened up about her exit from #TheOC: "It just felt like it was the best thing for me and my health and just in terms of not really feeling protected by my cast and crew at that point." https://t.co/Wdc8rHQ9Ms pic.twitter.com/EFUSpBCDPM
— E! News (@enews) May 20, 2021
Over the last fifteen years, there have been a handful of interviews discussing Barton’s sudden departure, but no official reason was ever given.
“There were people on that set that were very mean to me. It wasn't, like, the most ideal environment for a young, sensitive girl who's also been thrust into stardom to have to put up with."
Show creator Josh Schwartz told The Daily Beast in 2017, “It was born out of a number of issues: Creative, cast chemistry, ratings.”
But Barton revealed to E! News last Friday that bullying behind the scenes from “some of the men on set” of the show was part of the reason she left.
“I’ve always felt ashamed in a way to really talk about what went on behind the scenes because I’ve always been a very private person and very aware of people’s feelings,” Barton told E! News. “Now that we’re living in this era where we do speak out about our experiences and women do come clean about what was really going on behind the scenes and how they were treated, it’s a slightly different thing.”
It's been 15 years since #TheOC aired its season 3 finale, and we're still crying about it. https://t.co/CmgaVWKBWP
— Entertainment Weekly (@EW) May 18, 2021
“There were people on that set that were very mean to me. It wasn’t, like, the most ideal environment for a young, sensitive girl who’s also been thrust into stardom to have to put up with.”
Barton, who started playing Cooper when she was 17 years old, did not discuss which men were allegedly bullying her.
Another factor for leaving she revealed was the producers’ decision to make Rachel Bilson a lead character affected everyone’s pay.
“The O.C.” aired from 2003 to 2007.
