E! has parted ways with The Royals creator Mark Schwahn.
After suspending Schwahn on Nov. 15, the NBCUniversal-owned cable network and The Royals producers Lionsgate Television and Universal Cable Productions have now opted to fire the showrunner following a wave of sexual harassment allegations from the cast of the series as well as his former drama One Tree Hill.
“We have concluded our investigation and Mark will not be returning to The Royals," produers Lionsgate TV said in a statement. "The fourth season of the show has already completed production and will air as scheduled on E! in the spring.”
The decision to fire Schwahn will not impact the upcoming fourth season of the Elizabeth Hurley royal drama as production wrapped in September. It will air in 2018 as planned. It's unclear if a new showrunner will be named or if season four of the series will be its last.
Thanks to Yvonne for the heads up.
For six seasons, Hilarie Burton played Peyton Sawyer, the female lead on “One Tree Hill,” a Warner Bros. teen drama created by Mark Schwahn. For the first two seasons, Burton said, she struggled against Schwahn’s efforts to gratuitously sexualize her character — fights that earned her a reputation for being “difficult.”
But after the show’s second season, according to Burton, inappropriate behavior by Schwahn that she and her costars dismissed as social awkwardness grew more intense.
“Things took a turn in season three,” Burton said. “That’s when Mark decided that I was his muse.”
Speaking to Variety, Burton recalled years of harassment and assault that she alleges Schwahn perpetrated against her and other women on the show. She claimed that Schwahn twice forced himself on her, kissing her on the mouth without warning and against her will. She said Schwahn touched her inappropriately while in the presence of his wife. All in all, she described a culture on “One Tree Hill” in which Schwahn pitted women against each other, was verbally abusive, and spread false rumors about physical relationships he claimed to have had with female cast members.
I have loved working on The Royals. I am devastated by recent reports. This is my statement. pic.twitter.com/7c7VCAgPjr
— Elizabeth Hurley (@ElizabethHurley) November 16, 2017
In a joint statement signed by 25 actresses — series regular Merritt Patterson and guest-starring/recurring players — as well crew members, they accuse Schwahn of “repeated unwanted sexual harassment of multiple female members of cast and crew.”
Here is the full statement of 25 Royals female actors and crew members:
Upon reading a statement from the ladies of One Tree Hill, a statement from their Royal sisters could not possibly go unwritten.
Despite hearing rumours about his behaviour on One Tree Hill, those of us involved from the early stages went into the filming of the pilot hoping they were just that – rumours. By the time we wrapped this had irrevocably proven not to be the case. It became all too apparent reading their statement earlier this week that the betrayal and anger so many of us had experienced during our time on The Royals is not exclusively ours. And we were angry then, and we are angry now.
This statement is a collection of voices from those women involved in The Royals who would like to finally respond to the behaviour of our showrunner. Who felt the inclination to abuse his power and influence in an environment where he had it over women who felt they did not. This manifested itself in the repeated unwanted sexual harassment of multiple female members of cast and crew.
Where we should have been excited to meet new female cast and crew members, we felt nauseating concern in case they too should have him track down their mobile number. Where we should have offered our friends who auditioned for The Royals scene help and advice, we offered warnings about the man they would meet in the room. More than all of this, where we should all collectively have felt pride over jobs hard won and roles much loved, we felt undermined as artists and creatives. And in many cases, no more than a sum of body attributes.
Whilst voraciously condemning the actions of one man, we would like to make note of our gratitude to others. Thank you to so many of the Royal men who ensured we were never alone in social situations with him and took two steps towards us for his every one. Thank you to the friends, loved ones and partners who supported us at the time and ever more so now in coming forwards.
But thank you most of all to the women of One Tree Hill, whose solid gold backbones have moved us enormously. To you we doff our crowns.
Kind regards
The Ladies of The Royals.
Hatty Preston, Sophie Colquhoun, Alex Watherson, Lydia Rose Bewley, April Church, Annalise Beusnel, Poppy Corby-Tuech, Florence Chow, Charlie Jones, Isabella Artitzone, Jade Armstrong, Rachel Walsh, Tania Vernava, Bonnie Vannucci, Merritt Patterson, Kate Benton, Jerry-Jane Pears, Jodie Simone, Kate Royds, Leonie Hartard, Lisa Mitton, Marie Deehan, Alice Woodward, Rachel Lennon, Kimberly Macbeth.
— Alexandra Park (@AlexandraPark1) November 16, 2017
E! and producers Lionsgate Television have suspended showrunner Mark Schwahn from his scripted drama The Royals following allegations about sexual harassment during his time on The CW's One Tree Hill.
“E!, Universal Cable Productions and Lionsgate Television take sexual harassment allegations very seriously, investigate them thoroughly and independently, and take appropriate action. Lionsgate has suspended Mark Schwahn from ‘The Royals’ as we continue our investigation.”
Production on The Royals will not be impacted as production on season four of the drama wrapped in September. Season four will air as planned next year.
Thanks to sam for the heads up.
What a long time coming. Your deeds will truly find you out in the end. I’m grateful for the opportunity to speak up in a time when change is possible. There is still more to say but for this moment, we thank you for your support 🙌🏼💥
— Bethany Joy Lenz (@BethanyJoyLenz) November 14, 2017
Thank you for being one of the good ones, Austin. All love. #BurnItDownSis https://t.co/XRmPrUaEyC
— Sophia Bush (@SophiaBush) November 14, 2017
I stand with all my OTH sisters. We have to change. We have to be better. All of us. This is unacceptable.
— AUSTIN NICHOLS (@AustinNichols) November 14, 2017
— James Lafferty (@ThisIsLafferty) November 14, 2017
This is the reality for women, in all industries, anywhere that powerful men abuse their power. 1 in 4 women (reported numbers, estimates place the actual numbers at 1 in 2) are assaulted by the time they leave college. We have a systemic problem. It needs fixing. https://t.co/RMbhd3dOiz
— Sophia Bush (@SophiaBush) November 14, 2017
I have been angry for a decade. Today, my sisters take back what was rightfully ours. #burnitdownsis #fuckyoursorry https://t.co/QMZBzwqm7g
— Hilarie Burton (@HilarieBurton) November 14, 2017
It's time, sisters. I am so proud to call these women my family. You cannot imagine. #linkinbio https://t.co/OvWGsCyuXb
— Sophia Bush (@SophiaBush) November 14, 2017
To say we were excited was an understatement. To say we left that job demoralized and confused is also an understatement. One of the 1st things we were told was that the showrunner hired female writers on the basis of their looks. That's why you're here - he wants to fuck you.
— Audrey Wauchope (@audreyalison) November 12, 2017
Rachel had been actress previous to writing and was told that he used to talk about her in the room before we were hired. So that's a safe room to enter as staff writers. Imagine what that does to ones psyche.
— Audrey Wauchope (@audreyalison) November 12, 2017
Imagine feeling for the rest of your career that you're possibly an imposter - that maybe just maybe you're only here because you're a body, not a mind. It creeps into your thoughts and keeps you up at night and makes you wonder.
— Audrey Wauchope (@audreyalison) November 12, 2017
Moving on. The staff sat on couches. Female writers would try to get the spot where the showrunner wouldn't sit as to not be touched. Often men would help out by sitting next to him, thus protecting the women.
— Audrey Wauchope (@audreyalison) November 12, 2017
Sometimes we wouldn't luck out and he'd just squeeze his disgusting body in between us and put his arms around us, grinning. He pet hair. He massaged shoulders. I know he did more but not to me so they're not my stories to share.
— Audrey Wauchope (@audreyalison) November 12, 2017
Ever since then I just state "I don't like to be touched." This often makes me sound angry or not warm. It's just that I don't know anther way to make it clear I don't enjoy your unwanted touch.
— Audrey Wauchope (@audreyalison) November 12, 2017
Moving on. Men on staff were shown naked photos of on an actress he was having an affair with. Naked photos she didn't know were being passed around . Naked photos they didn't want to see. This is such a violation,both to the actress and to the men forced to look and participate
— Audrey Wauchope (@audreyalison) November 12, 2017
Moving on. The day before my writing partner left for her wedding he closed the door of his office and asked her if she really wanted to go through with it. Maybe he could have a shot? Hahahaha we said. That's crazy. He's crazy. NO. He's abusive.
— Audrey Wauchope (@audreyalison) November 12, 2017
He's a man in a position of power who was allowed to run a television show for years where this behavior continuously went on. I don't blame the men on that staff - I truly believe they were also in a way victims of psychological abuse and didn't know what to do.
— Audrey Wauchope (@audreyalison) November 12, 2017
Moving on. The day the studio lawyers came to give the sexual harassment seminar many of us had pointed questions we were going to ask. This will be the time we can speak and he will know we know! Guess who didn't show up?
— Audrey Wauchope (@audreyalison) November 12, 2017
That's right. The show runner did not attend the mandatory sexual harassment meeting. I don't blame the studio, I doubt they knew. I blame a system that allows one person to have so much power they can do whatever they want.
— Audrey Wauchope (@audreyalison) November 12, 2017
I'm furious and sad and everything else for the women who have sat on that couch next to that man. And I'm furious and sad and everything else that years later I don't feel safe to be able to do anything real about this and that it seems to be happening all over this town.
— Audrey Wauchope (@audreyalison) November 12, 2017
I write all this to say that there are trickle down psychological effects to all this bullshit and the town is littered with the collateral damage of abusers who have been given free reign. If you're sitting on one of these staffs please know whatever you are feeling is real.
— Audrey Wauchope (@audreyalison) November 12, 2017
The cast members and crew, including stars Sophia Bush, Hilarie Burton, and Bethany Joy Lenz, wrote Monday that they “have chosen this forum to stand together in support of Audrey Wauchope and one another” following statements made by Wauchope — a former writer on the series — on Twitter Saturday accusing Schwann of harassment. In the letter, 18 women who worked on the show claimed, “Many of us were, to varying degrees, manipulated psychologically and emotionally. More than one of us is still in treatment for post-traumatic stress. Many of us were put in uncomfortable positions and had to swiftly learn to fight back, sometimes physically, because it was made clear to us that the supervisors in the room were not the protectors they were supposed to be. Many of us were spoken to in ways that ran the spectrum from deeply upsetting, to traumatizing, to downright illegal. And a few of us were put in positions where we felt physically unsafe. ”
In a statement Monday, E!, Universal Cable Productions and Lionsgate Television — the companies behind Schwahn’s current show, “The Royals” — said, “We are monitoring the information carefully. E!, Universal Cable Productions and Lionsgate Television are committed to providing a safe working environment in which everyone is treated respectfully and professionally.”
Read the letter from the “One Tree Hill” cast and crew members below:
To Whom It May Concern,
All of the female cast members of One Tree Hill have chosen this forum to stand together in support of Audrey Wauchope and one another. To use terminology that has become familiar as thesystemic reality of sexual harassment and assault has come more and more to light, Mark Schwahn’s behavior over the duration of the filming of One Tree Hill was something of an “open secret.” Many of us were, to varying degrees, manipulated psychologically and emotionally. More than one of us is still in treatment for post-traumatic stress. Many of us were put in uncomfortable positions and had to swiftly learn to fight back, sometimes physically, because it was made clear to us that the supervisors in the room were not the protectors they were supposed to be. Many of us were spoken to in ways that ran the spectrum from deeply upsetting, to traumatizing, to downright illegal. And a few of us were put in positions where we felt physically unsafe. More than one woman on our show had her career trajectory threatened.
The through line in all of this was, and still is, our unwavering support of and faith in one another. We confided in each other. We set up safe spaces to talk about his behavior and how to handle it. To warn new women who joined our ranks. We understood that a lot of it was orchestrated in ways that kept it out of sight for the studio back home. We also understood that no one was fully unaware. The lack of action that has been routine, the turning of the other cheek, is intolerable. We collectively want to echo the calls of women everywhere that vehemently demand change, in all industries.
Many of us were told, during filming, that coming forward to talk about this culture would result in our show being canceled and hundreds of lovely, qualified, hard-working, and talented people losing their jobs. This is not an appropriate amount of pressure to put on young girls. Many of us since have stayed silent publicly but had very open channels of communication in our friend group and in our industry, because we want Tree Hill to remain the place “where everything’s better and everything’s safe” for our fans; some of whom have said that the show quite literally saved their lives. But the reality is, no space is safe when it has an underlying and infectious cancer. We have worked at taking our power back, making the conventions our own, and relishing in the good memories. But there is more work to be done.
We are all deeply grateful for Audrey’s courage. For one another. And for every male cast mate and crew member who has reached out to our group of women to offer their support these last few days. They echo the greater rallying cry that must lead us to change: Believe Women. We are all in this together.
With Love and Courage,
The Cast,
Sophia Bush, Hilarie Burton, Bethany Joy Lenz, Danneel Harris, Michaela McManus, Kate Voegele, Daphne Zuniga, India DeBeaufort, Bevin Prince, Jana Kramer, Shantel Van Santen, and Allison Munn
And Brave Crew,
Audrey Wauchope, Rachel Specter, Jane Beck, Tarin Squillante, Cristy Koebley, JoJo Stephens
And All the rest of the Women We Worked With Who Are Finding Their Voices as We Speak
