The 'One Tree Hill' alum explains how the sexual harassment experience on her former show impacted the way she parents her children in hopes to empower them.
- May 3, 2020
AceShowbiz - Hilarie Burton's experiences of sexual harassment have influenced the values she's instilled in her daughter.
The former "One Tree Hill" star shares son Gus, 10, and two-year-old daughter George Virginia with her husband, "The Walking Dead" star Jeffrey Dean Morgan.
In her new memoir, "The Rural Diaries", the actress writes about being taken advantage of while working on the show, and she told People her negative experiences definitely had an effect on her parenting techniques.
"She will never be a pleaser," Hilarie insisted. "If my daughter tells someone to f**k off, awesome. I wish I had had the ability to do that."
Hilarie had just turned 21 when she was cast in the coming-of-age drama series in 2003, and speaking of her time on the show she reflected, "There was so much good. But there was bad too."
The star has accused showrunner Mark Schwahn of "grooming" her, touching her inappropriately, and kissing her against her will. However, she didn't speak up at the time because "I was told that if you speak up, your career is over... You'll be labeled a troublemaker."
She explained, "I didn't say anything for a decade. And as a result of that, people were abused after me. The guilt that comes with that is really difficult."
While Schwahn has never commented on the allegations, he was subsequently fired as showrunner of "The Royals" in 2017 following new allegations against him.
"The Rural Diaries" is due to be released on May 5, 2020.
