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One Tree Hill’s Bethany Joy Lenz Breaks Silence connected Hilarie Burton Feud Rumors
The stars of One Tree Hill don’t request to spell looking ‘round rooms wondering what they gotta bash to sum up their bond.
“I’m truthful successful emotion with our small family,” Hilarie Burton said connected a 2020 occurrence of Chicks successful the Office. “We person squabbles likes families do. They’re fewer and acold between. But I’d instrumentality a slug for those kids. I emotion them.”
And portion of wherever their narration is going is knowing wherever it’s coming from.
“Our relationship has taken connected truthful galore antithetic incarnations,” Bethany Joy Lenz added successful a 2021 People interrogation with Burton and Sophia Bush. “There were times erstwhile we loved each other, there’ve been times erstwhile we’ve truly not liked each other, determination person been times erstwhile we’ve conscionable ignored each other. It’s gone done each the ebbs and flows for assorted reasons—from conscionable being young and dumb to radical intentionally inserting themselves into our relationships and trying to abstracted us, to life—just question and you can’t support up with everybody each the time.”
Lenz described immoderate of the challenges their relationship faced successful her caller publication Dinner For Vampires, successful which she writes astir her “life connected a cult TV amusement portion besides successful an existent cult.”
Warner Bros. Television/Entertainment Pictures via ZUMA Press
Looking backmost astatine her aboriginal days connected One Tree Hill, the histrion recalled however she “wasn’t equipped to get excessively adjacent to Sophia,” whom she described arsenic some “bubbly and compassionate” arsenic good arsenic “even much intelligent”—noting “her caput could’ve been enactment to bully usage by NASA.”
“Frequently favored and perpetually underestimated successful beingness due to the fact that of her beauty, Sophia worked obsessively astatine proving her value—a quality trait that made her cleanable to play Brooke Davis but clashed with my ain insecurities and militant beliefs astir however 1 should spell astir proving their value,” Lenz wrote. “I missed the irony that I was doing precisely the aforesaid thing, lone I was utilizing religion arsenic my benchmark. My budding relationship with saccharine Sophia became a casualty of this and alternatively of sitting shiva for my ego, I truly f--king privation I could crook backmost time, locomotion into her trailer, and springiness her a long, hard hug.”
And portion fans don’t privation the costars to beryllium thing different than close, lately they’ve been wondering if Lenz and Burton person been feuding. Still, the Haley James Scott alum tried to connection followers bid of mind.
“I emotion Hilarie, I person ever and volition always,” Lenz said connected an October 2024 occurrence of Call Her Daddy, “and I don’t person immoderate occupation with her. There person been immoderate bizarre misunderstanding that I truly anticipation we tin fig retired 1 day. But I emotion that girl.”
As fans hold for that time to come—and if they’ll yet get a One Tree Hill revival—keep speechmaking to larn much astir the behind-the-scenes dynamics.
Warner Bros. Television/Entertainment Pictures via ZUMA Press
1. Creator Mark Schwahn initially wrote the task arsenic a movie called Ravens and it took 4 years for Warner Bros. TV executives to person him to crook it into a series.
2. Believing the original name to beryllium excessively sports-centric, the show's rubric came from the U2 opus "One Tree Hill" off their Joshua Tree album. Each episode of the bid was named aft a opus from assorted artists, ranging from Dashboard Confessional to R.E.M.
3. After speechmaking for the portion of Ryan connected The O.C., Chad Michael Murray turned it down to prima arsenic Lucas, the brooding writer and hoops player. Though producers initially envisioned him arsenic Nathan aft his atrocious lad turns on Gilmore Girls and Dawson's Creek, Murray related to Lucas—as his parent near his household erstwhile helium was young—and pushed to beryllium formed successful the role.
El Universal/ZUMAPRESS.com
4. Bethany Joy Lenz auditioned for Haley and Brooke, but didn't truly privation to play the latter, admitting to speechmaking it the aforesaid mode she work the former. The last bid regular to beryllium cast, Lenz dyed her blonde hairsbreadth acheronian and straightened her earthy curls to differentiate herself from Hilarie Burton, who played Peyton.
5. James Lafferty, past 17, had much acquisition playing hoops than acting and knew helium had his enactment chopped retired for him to onshore the portion of Nathan. "I don't deliberation I was an archetypal choice," Lafferty said successful a behind-the-scenes featurette, revealing helium had to audition six times.
He wasn't wrong. Noted enforcement shaper Joe Davola, "When James went into casting helium was a acheronian equine to get the job."
6. While she wasn't successful the pilot, Sophia Bush made her debut arsenic Brooke successful the 2nd occurrence and went connected to look each week after, adjacent stepping down the camera to nonstop 3 times.
WARNER BROS. TELEVISION / ZUMA
7. One twelvemonth aft gathering connected set, Murray and Bush got engaged successful 2004 and wed little than a twelvemonth later. Five months later, quality broke that Bush filed for an annulment citing fraud, which was denied but she and Murray divorced.
As for what it was similar to inactive enactment with her ex connected One Tree Hill?
"There was nary abstraction to self-reflect," Bush said connected an occurrence of Dax Shepard's Armchair Expert podcast, adding OTH producers were "really profoundly inappropriate" to her and Murray aft their breakup.
"They ran TV ads astir it, it was truly ugly," she added. "They made signifier of taking vantage of people's idiosyncratic lives, and not conscionable for maine and for my ex, for different actors connected the amusement who would stock arsenic you bash erstwhile you get adjacent to people. Deeply idiosyncratic things that were happening successful their lives and they would upwind up successful storylines. It wasn't OK."
However, Bush has nary involvement successful bad-mouthing Murrary—or talking astir him astatine each really.
"I've tried to poke fun astatine being a dumb kid. And whenever I've done that, it gets twisted into I'm talking s--t astir idiosyncratic who I don't adjacent cognize anymore, who's intelligibly a grown-up," she explained connected a 2021 occurrence of Inside of You with Michael Rosenbaum. "I deliberation you person to laughter astatine who you utilized to be. But erstwhile radical inquire maine astir past that involves idiosyncratic else...it's not worthy my time. It's not a spot wherever I harbor sick volition oregon anything."
As she enactment it, "I was a precise naive 21-year-old kid and that's each determination is to it."
JB Lacroix/WireImage
Murray has shared akin sentiments.
“I was a baby. I didn’t cognize up, down, left, right,” helium told The Cut successful May 2024. “You determination retired determination and you go, ‘Well, what americium I expected to bash now? Get married? That’s exciting!’”
8. Bush would aboriginal day Lafferty in 2008 before striking up a romance with Austin Nichols, who played her hubby Julian on OTH. The mates called it quits successful 2012, the aforesaid twelvemonth the bid ended.
9. There was 1 palmy on-set match: Lisa Goldstein, who played Millie successful the aboriginal seasons, joined Brendan Kirsch, the show's hoops coordinator, successful 2011.
10. During an occurrence of her podcast Drama Queens, which she co-hosts with Bush and Lenz, Burton revealed her hubby Jeffrey Dean Morgan was almost her colleague connected OTH.
"You cognize erstwhile I met Jeff, helium was like, 'Oh I auditioned for that show,'" she said, revealing helium had work for the portion of Keith, Lucas' begetter figure, a relation that went to Craig Sheffer. "'And I was like, wait, what?'"
11. Burton and Morgan would alternatively get introduced by her co-star Danneel Ackles, whose hubby Jensen Ackles formed a adjacent transportation with The Walking Dead prima aft Morgan played his begetter connected Supernatural.
Chris Haston/NBC/NBCU Photo Bank via Getty Images
12. In a shocking unfastened missive published November 2017, 18 formed and unit members levied intersexual harassment accusations against Schwahn, hinting astir the acheronian ambiance that existed connected set
In her 2020 memoir The Rural Diaries: Love, Livestock, and Big Life Lessons Down connected Mischief Farm, Burton wrote of Schwahn, "In my peculiar fairy communicative determination had been a villain who pitted pistillate actors against 1 another, pushed america to bash gratuitous enactment scenes that ever near maine feeling sick and ashamed, told young pistillate actors to instrumentality their chests out, enactment his hands connected each of us, and pushed himself connected me, forcing unwanted kisses."
13. Additionally, Bush spoke retired astir her acquisition during a June 2021 quality connected the Chicks successful the Office podcast, claiming that she and her One Tree Hill co-stars—who she didn't identify—were being controlled and manipulated by unspecified adults connected set.
"We had grown-ups who we trusted, who present we recognize were being truly controlling and manipulative—who didn't privation america to beryllium adjacent 'cause they thought we would set unneurotic and inquire for much money," Bush alleged. "It's conscionable truthful weird and those were conscionable things we were not alert of astatine the time."
Schwahn has not publically addressed the allegations.
Warner Bros. Television/Entertainment Pictures via ZUMA Press
14. After six seasons, Murray and Burton exited the bid successful 2009. But the seeds for Burton's departure were planted overmuch earlier, she revealed successful her memoir.
After her beloved person Scott Kirkpatrick was killed portion serving successful Iraq successful the summertime of 2007, her beingness "took a turn," she wrote, his decease snapping her "priorities and goals backmost into focus."
"I had spent the erstwhile fewer years wandering, ne'er truly uncovering my place, but I wanted more," she explained. "I wanted a family. I wanted a location that could beryllium a refuge and a blank canvas that would let maine to daydream, to instrumentality risks, to effort and neglect and effort again. I wanted to propulsion myself each day. I wanted to marque each infinitesimal intentional. Wake up intentionally. Work intentionally. Eat intentionally. And remainder intentionally." So she quit, began penning a caller and booked a one-way summons to Paris.
15. At the time, however, Schwahn told a radical of fans successful Paris that their departures were owed to a declaration dispute, according to The Los Angeles Times. "I cognize they've been offered large things, and hopefully they'll determine to travel back," helium said. "If they don't that's ever a possibility...[the show] has made it done immoderate of the riskier moves we've done."
Murray besides spoke retired to the show's viewers, saying successful a video, "They're not bringing maine backmost adjacent year...because they privation to prevention money. Start blogging and being pissed off." While Burton ne'er returned, Murray made an quality successful the last season.
Warner Bros. Television/Entertainment Pictures via ZUMA Press
16. In a bold move, One Tree Hill staged a time-jump successful play six, choosing to forgo the assemblage years to drawback up with the characters arsenic adults.
"When you look backmost and spot akin shows to ours effort to marque that leap from precocious schoolhouse into the adjacent section of these characters' lives," Lafferty told E! News successful 2015, "it's benignant of awkward and clunky and it doesn't enactment that well."
17. Country vocalist Jana Kramer joined OTH for its last 3 seasons and revealed connected her podcast Whine Down that one unnamed cast subordinate "made it hell" for everyone other connected the series, alleging she was not allowed to beryllium friends with Lafferty.
"When I was connected the show...there was conscionable some, not cattiness, but just, 'You can't speech to this idiosyncratic if you're friends with this person,'" she said successful a 2021 episode. "So I wasn't precise adjacent to James due to the fact that of definite situations connected the acceptable astatine the time."
18. In 2010, formed subordinate Antwon Tanner was sentenced to 3 months successful prison for his relation successful a scam to merchantability stolen Social Security Numbers crossed authorities lines. The actor, who played Antwon "Skills" Taylor, pled guilty aft getting caught successful a sting cognition trying to peddle 16 phony Social Security Numbers and 3 counterfeit cards successful 2009.
Brian ZAK/Gamma-Rapho via Getty Images
19. In 2024's Dinner For Vampires—in which Lenz wrote astir her "life connected a cult TV amusement portion besides successful an existent cult"—the histrion noted she initially "wasn't eqipped to get excessively adjacent to Sophia."
“Frequently favored and perpetually underestimated successful beingness due to the fact that of her beauty, Sophia worked obsessively astatine proving her value—a quality trait that made her cleanable to play Brooke Davis but clashed with my ain insecurities and militant beliefs astir however 1 should spell astir proving their value,” Lenz wrote. “I missed the irony that I was doing precisely the aforesaid thing, lone I was utilizing religion arsenic my benchmark."
However, she regrets this judgment.
"My budding relationship with saccharine Sophia became a casualty of this," Lenz added, "and alternatively of sitting shiva for my ego, I truly f--king privation I could crook backmost time, locomotion into her trailer, and springiness her a long, hard hug.”
They aboriginal became pals, and Bush has spoken astir her enslaved with Lenz and Burton.
"Our relationship and each of the things that it was influenced by that we didn’t cognize astir erstwhile we were young and the ways that we’ve ever returned to each different to unpack the good, the bad, the disfigured and the precise champion of our lives arsenic friends, we person that feral, primal, familial emotion for each different wherever we’ve been to hellhole and backmost and had truthful galore times wherever we’d laughed truthful hard we’ve coiled up successful tears and we’re truthful ferociously protective of each other," she erstwhile told People. "In my big life, I go, 'This is what existent sisterhood is.'"
Mindy Small/Getty Images
20. But successful 2024, fans started to wonderment wherever Lenz and Burton stood. Eagle-eyed TikTokers noticed the 2 weren't pursuing each different connected Instagram and that Burton had reposted a quote that read, "I don't deliberation imitation is the highest signifier of flattery. I deliberation it's conscionable annoying," starring to speculation that she could beryllium referencing the covers of her and Lenz's memoirs. That aforesaid year, Burton announced that Robert Buckley would beryllium replacing her arsenic co-host of her podcast with Lenz and Bush Drama Queens.
In October that year, Lenz addressed the Burton feud rumors.
“I emotion Hilarie, I person ever and volition always,” she said connected Call Her Daddy, “and I don’t person immoderate occupation with her. There person been immoderate bizarre misunderstanding that I truly anticipation we tin fig retired 1 day. But I emotion that girl.”
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