Sophia Bush was assaulted on Chicago P.D. ‘in a room full of people’ who ignored it

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Sophia Bush quit working on Chicago PD in 2017. She made it clear in interviews that it was her idea, that she gave producers ample notice and told them clearly what was wrong on set, but that nothing changed so she left. She said that it was a very unprofessional work environment and it’s thought that some of that had to do with her costar, Jason Beghe. Beghe was reprimanded for outbursts on set and issued a statement apologizing and revealing that he was in anger management treatment. So it looks like executives decided to keep the abuser on set and let one of his victims leave when she brought up the issues that they likely already knew. In a new interview on Dax Shepard’s podcast [via US Magazine], Sophia got into some more details of her exit and they’re damning:

[Sophia Bush], 36, joined Dax Shepard’s “Armchair Expert” podcast, published on Monday, December 10, and revealed that after visiting Onsite, a friend’s wellness retreat, she “unpacked” what was going on with herself.

“I realized that as I was thinking I was being the tough guy, doing the thing, showing up to work, I programmed myself to tolerate the intolerable,” the activist stated. After that, she began saying no – and ultimately quit her job on Chicago P.D. “I quit because, what I’ve learned is I’ve been so programmed to be a good girl and to be a work horse and be a tug boat that I have always prioritized tugging the ship for the crew, for the show, for the group, ahead of my own health … My body was, like, falling apart, because I was really, really unhappy.”

Bush went on to explain that the conditions of working in Chicago’s extreme weather was difficult and people were getting sick all of the time. However, the writers in Los Angeles would tell them that the “snow looks so cool on camera…

“I internalized and sort of like, inhabited that role of ‘pull the tug boat’ to the point where just because I’m unhappy or I’m being mistreated or I’m being abused at work, I’m not gonna f—k up this job for all these people and what about the camera guy whose two daughters I love and this is how he pays their rent? It becomes such a big thing. When your bosses tell you that if you raise a ruckus, you’ll cost everyone their job, you believe them.”

After complaining multiple times, she sat down with her two bosses following the table read of the season 4 premiere. Although she had signed a seven-season contract when landing the gig in 2014, she was ready to go and was giving them an entire season to either change things or find a replacement.

When her bosses told her there was “no way” she’d be able to get out of her contract, she gave them a choice. “I said, ‘OK, you can put me in the position of going quietly of my own accord or you can put me in the position of suing the network to get me out of my deal and I’ll write an op-ed for The New York Times and tell them why…’”

“[It] was a consistent onslaught barrage of abusive behavior,” Bush stated, without naming names. “You start to lose your way when someone assaults you in a room full of people and everyone literally looks away, looks at the floor, looks at the ceiling, and you’re the one woman in the room and every man who’s twice your size doesn’t do something.”

[From US Magazine]

I like how matter-of-fact Sophia is and yet she’s not naming names, which would absolutely be her prerogative, she’s just clearly stating what happened. It’s outrageous that when she said she’d like a better work environment she was told that she would cost people their jobs if anything changed. That’s a classic abuser tactic. The fact that she ended up leaving and that nothing was done shows how such a toxic environment happened in the first place. We wonder why there aren’t better depictions of women on television and in film but it’s not only about barriers to entry, it’s about unsafe work environments and a culture that does not value workers, protects abusers and blames the victim.

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photos credit: WENN

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73 Responses to “Sophia Bush was assaulted on Chicago P.D. ‘in a room full of people’ who ignored it”

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  1. AA says:

    As someone who lives in Chicago, these people who claim the weather is dreadful…well, they are right, but it also doesn’t make you sick (cold weather and/or snow). I suppose it can make you depressed and more susceptible to being sick but the special snowflakes who come here and whine about the weather…we laugh at you while we wear flip flops until it goes below 32 degrees. But good on Sophia for leaving the show and it’s terrible that they didn’t do anything about abusive behavior.

    • Millennial says:

      Maybe not if you are just commuting to work, but I imagine the cast and crew were in the cold and snow for several hours a day shooting scenes, and probably not in the warmest clothing (how many times do you see a network actress in a puffy down parka on camera). So I can see if you had to do that for days on end it would start to impact your health.

    • Anners says:

      I had to laugh as well – I live in a pretty cold climate, too. But I wonder if it was a combination of feeling forced to be in the cold for extended periods and inappropriately dressed (don’t want to look bulky for the camera!) that contributed to poor health and a general feeling of malaise. Regardless, props to Sophia for getting out of a toxic situation.

      ETA – sorry Millennial – we must have been posting at the same time!

    • MrsBanjo says:

      And how would someone used to colder weather fare in California or Arizona’s constant triple digit heat during the summers? Should people from those states laugh at you lot when you complain about it being so hot?

      People who are used to a certain climate have to take time to adjust to a new one.

      • AA says:

        My in-laws live in Florida and I can’t stand it. And they do laugh at me when I come there. Shrug. California and Arizona heat doesn’t bother me – not the humidity like they have in Florida (and in Chicago, frankly, in the summer).

      • Ann says:

        I was thinking that too! Like hey, Chicago, come down to AZ in August why don’t ya?! I’ll take my 115 in the shade over evil snow any day!

    • BANANIE says:

      I think it’s hard to adapt to a change, but it’s not like they’re insulting the weather or you. I also think saying that you’re cold doesn’t automatically make you a special snowflake. I live in Texas but I don’t “laugh at” people who come and say they’re afraid they’ll get overheated, even when it’s only mildly hot by Texas standards. Live and let live!

      • AA says:

        Here’s the whole comment she made – “And we were like it’s literally 30 degrees below zero. So it’s 62 degrees below freezing, and you’re going to say we have to keep working outside? Like, people were sick all the time.” First of all, while it’s cold here, it rarely gets THAT cold, and I do not believe her when she says they forced them to be outside in -30 weather. I just don’t. I can’t even remember the last time it was THAT cold here (while admittedly it has been a few times). So this, combined with prior comments she’s made about hating it here, made me kind of defensive of my home. 🙂

      • perplexed says:

        With all the strange stuff going on in Hollywood, I can believe they’d be forced to work in extreme cold. I could see producers doing it as a form of punishment or enforcement of their power over the actors.

        The actor who assaulted her was apparently being investigated for sexual harassment as well, and he was kept around, and she quit. So keeping that in mind, I don’t find her story unbelievable about working in cold weather. Dealing with cold weather might have been more tolerable to her if the weirdo actor hadn’t been kept around. It’s probably everything put together that made the cold working condition annoying. In isolation, I suspect she might not have been bothered as much by one bad cold working day.

      • alyssa calloway says:

        With no knowledge of how cold Chicago actually is, I can’t really stick up for her on that front. However, I can say that I believe production would make them work in extreme temperatures. When I worked in film it was always about “making your day” as in getting all the shots done on time so they wouldn’t have to keep the crew longer than budgeted (a lot of producers on the ground do care about overworking their crew, but for the big dogs it’s about not having to pay them overtime).

        I was lucky on most of the sets I worked on but I can say with certainty that crew safety/wellbeing is NOT top of mind for a lot of people. Cast safety/wellbeing is a bit more of a priority, but still not above making money. And the productions I worked on weren’t as “hardcore” as these procedurals that are like machines churning out episodes where 70% of what happens is on location at night (so they start at sundown and wrap at sunup). I’ve had colleagues that say the most miserable people in the business they’d ever met were the ones working on Law and Order etc. The majority of scenes for the show I worked longest on were either during the day outside (in the SC swamp heat…not as bad as it could be but not fun either) or on a soundstage. A film I worked on did have about a week of all night shoots and it’s rough, especially in the transition from day.

        I had friends who worked on Midnight Rider, the Greg Allman biopic where a camera crew member (Sarah Jones, who I was familiar with but she wouldn’t have known who I was probably) lost her life for the sake of a shot. This is an extreme example, but it’s not completely out of the ordinary for a chance like that to be taken. It’s just that this time they got caught bc someone died. Since then there has been a push for safety on sets in Sarah’s name, and insurance liabilities are taken more seriously but I wouldn’t discount them working in below freezing temperatures, even if she’s exaggerating the actual number.

        All that said, I can’t speak for the unions the crew members belong to and what kind of conditions they allow people to work in without legal penalty (and what SAG/AFTRA allows…although we can see how much they protect even their most valuable members..not much), but casts and crews work in pretty much all conditions.

      • Meg says:

        Didnt johnny depp buy coats for the entire crew of a film he was working on b/c they were working in the cold? I dont doubt peoples well being are not considered on a set

    • Kitty says:

      Yeah for people who used to it, it can be pretty roug, especially if they have are hem filming for hours in clothes not made for the weather. Cold weather doesn’t give you a flu or cold but it can make you more susceptible, and being really stressed too can do it. I’m not gonna judge her for complaining about that. I live in a very cold, windy place too and hate to be out in it. (Newfoundland, Canada, it’s so friggin cold here.)

    • Erinn says:

      Yeah, I’m living in Nova Scotia. I mean – if you don’t like snow and can avoid it, that’s cool. But people live in this weather and get by fine. I’m an april-october/november sandal wearer. I’ve been wearing a fall jacket still and it’s been below freezing wind chills all weekend/this week. I’m not getting sick because of it haha. I’m going to assume the stress and probably poor sleep schedule got her run down, and she felt worse because she was freezing a good chunk of the time.

      I’m glad she walked. It’s way too common that people can turn their head when they witness something – the bystander effect is definitely a thing, and it’s awful. I feel so bad that she had to go to work somewhere that was just so awful – though I love that she pulled the “well, I guess I can just sue and write an op-ed” card. I actually wish she had, but I’m glad she didn’t have to do something she didn’t really want to do to get out of the contract. It let her talk about it in her own time, on her own terms.

    • eto says:

      Ugh I’ve lived in Chicago/Ohio all my life and I hate people like this. It is cold and windy as shit and I have a strong dislike for my 15-minute walk to the train so can’t imagine being outside for an extended period of time in cold weather.

      • Kitten says:

        Same. Boston is a pretty extreme climate: really hot and humid summers and very cold, stormy winters. I keep warm on my commute to/from work because I do a running commute. But I’m not going to hate on someone from LA who is used to warmer weather, complaining about the cold. Plus as was mentioned above, these actors often have to stand around for hours waiting for others to deliver their lines, waiting for their cue, and reciting lines for their next scene.
        Sure, they have trailers to warm up in but they still have to be readily available (i.e. present on set) for when their scene is up. I think even if you’re used to cold weather, that would be really difficult and uncomfortable.

        I will say that I get a kick out of my family in Cali who think 50 degrees is cold LOL. Around here, that’s t-shirt weather. 😉

      • eto says:

        Haha same! My sister just moved to Houston and has been bragging about the weather so I’m waiting until summer to throw it back in her face. In a nice, sisterly way, of course 😀

      • Grant says:

        Oh yeah, you’ll be able to Eto! I grew up in Houston, and the summers are BRUTAL. It’s already hot as Hades, but throw in the humidity factor and game over! It’s like you’re living in a sweltering armpit.

      • Maddie says:

        @kitten, as a California native who lived through NYC winters for the past five years, I have to defend your Cali relatives. 50° in California feels colder than 50° in NYC because of the lack of humidity.

      • Kitten says:

        @ Maddie- Oh I’m sure but that won’t stop me from teasing from them. Fair play when they’re always rubbing their beautiful Cali weather in my face. 🙂

    • GW says:

      Also when she quit Chicago had one of the best winters on record with no accumulated snow. Not buying her weather excuse as a lot of the actors from Chicago PD and Fire such as Taylor kinney have talked about how much they love the city (cold or not cold) but good for her that she got out of an abusive situation.

      • Kitten says:

        You’re “not buying her weather excuse”?
        Have you really never met a person who hates the cold? It’s not unusual, really. Just because her costars could handle it (large men typically run a lot warmed than tiny, petite women like Sophia) doesn’t mean that she could handle it.

      • lucy2 says:

        I think the bad weather conditions for filming were just a tiny part of the overall problem.

      • GW says:

        I work in the tourist industry so yes I do meet plenty of people who can’t handle the cold all the time. Just pointing out Chicago had one of the warmest winters on record when she quit so that’s why I wasn’t buying it. And I mentioned her costars (not so much about the weather) but because they truly love Chicago. Bush gave an interview yrs ago where she said how much she hated living there. The abuse might have factored into that comment tbh. Probably led to her having such negative opinions of the city.

      • Erinn says:

        Guys – the interview implied that people were getting sick BECAUSE of the weather – which is just not how colds work.

      • Kitten says:

        @ GW-Oh ok sorry about that! I obviously misunderstood you. I didn’t understand that you weren’t implying that she’s lying, but that there’s obviously more to the story.

        ITA that a terrible work experience in a new city would absolutely shape your feelings about it but it sucks that she hated Chicago. Personally, I love that city so damn much. I’m trying to get my BF to fly into Chicago for a few days before we visit his family in Iowa this summer. 🙂

    • Mel M says:

      I grew up in west Michigan which is crazy lake effect snow from like October to April. It literally snowed on my college graduation day in April. I lived in the western suburbs of Chicago for ten years which is less snow but wicked cold. I now live in NWI so it’s a mix. The cold sucks, I still hate it after being born and living almost my entire life here and if I had the opportunity to move to a better climate I would in a heartbeat but I do chuckle sometimes at how dramatic people are about cold weather. If she was raised and grew up in CA or something though I get it, it’s a huge adjustment.

    • Tiffany :) says:

      Your ability to be comfortable in cold or heat doesn’t win you any points, or make you a better person. Don’t know why some think it’s worth bragging about.

      The fact is our bodies change based on temperature. People who live in colder areas develop more brown fat, which has insulating properties. If you live in a warmer area, you won’t have this kind of protection and cold will feel colder to you.

    • Maria says:

      This is a really cruel, unsympathetic take. I live in the CO mountains and absolutely love cold weather. People who can’t tolerate it don’t deserve scorn or derision.

      • Erinn says:

        But it doesn’t make you sick, right? Because the article above says “Bush went on to explain that the conditions of working in Chicago’s extreme weather was difficult and people were getting sick all of the time.”

        And being cold does not make you catch a cold. I am pretty sure that’s the point the poster was making. Sure being cold sucks – but it doesn’t just cause illness out of nowhere. My husband works out in the middle of winter in -22F some days – dealing with wells, and crawling under wet, freezing cold building crawl spaces and it’s miserable. BUT it doesn’t cause him to get sick.

      • Lokigal says:

        i dont know about making everyone sick but i do know some people have a lower tolerance to extreme weather conditions (what is meh to you maybe hell to others by their own physiological capacities) and get sick easier more often because of it. the cold temparatures may not be the direct cause but it can be a significant factor.

        i am from a tropical country and use to be very slight and slim. i get cold easily even at home and when i traveled for work to cold climate countries, me and 2 of my friends; 1 skinny as well as another who is isn’t but also runs cold, we always ALWAYS get sick if the duration of the stay during the trip is more than 1 week. every single time. the doctor said that if our bodies are fighting so hard just to keep warm, our circulation may not be as strong, the body wears out faster everyday, like bone deep tired. And if you have always been from hot weather places, your body may have a much tougher time fighting cold climate pathogens it isn’t used to fighting in the warmer climes. And thinner people or those on diets as i imagine many hollywood females might be, probably arent as robust is fending off cold weather challenges and bugs. the added stress and psychological ill feelings probably is also fuel to fire.

    • Kerfuffle says:

      That’s nice. Are you working outside for hours at a time? And at night? After consistently working 12-14 hour days?

    • perplexed says:

      I live in cold weather and I complain about it all the time. To be honest, I assumed everybody did.

      I figure it’s pointless to deal with it if someone is hitting you on set and no one cares. Sure, might as well move if you have the option. Why not?

    • WTW says:

      I grew up in Chicago and have lived in LA for most of my adult life. Cold weather does up the likelihood of sickness because flu virus and others live longer in lower temperatures. This is one of those things people dismissed as an old wives’ tale, when it turned out the old wives were right. It just took science a while to catch up. http://sitn.hms.harvard.edu/flash/2014/the-reason-for-the-season-why-flu-strikes-in-winter/

      • Kitten says:

        Meh just a Harvard study. What do they know? 😉

        I mean, it makes sense given what we know about the immune system. Also, just logically, why is there an increase in colds and viruses? Because cooler temperatures result in a sluggish immune response and leave people more susceptible to infection.

      • Kitten says:

        *why is there an increase in colds and viruses IN WINTER. Sigh. Typing faster than I’m thinking again.

      • Lokigal says:

        THANK YOU!!! i was just typing this up there. should read further.

    • Riley says:

      AA- i wish there was a like button!! I too am a Chicago girl and we call that Tuesday! LOL!

      I know there was something bad happening on that set and am glad she’s speaking out, but she almost minimizes it by throwing something stupid like “and it was COLD” in there like it’s the same importance! Assault is a vague word. I truly wonder what happened . It had to be bad for her to leave such a lucrative job.

    • Jay says:

      I’m in Chicago too and yeah the lowest it’s been in the last five years is -50F, and that was for like three days out of the year max, so I don’t believe the oh it was -60 and they made us keep working. Nah. Even municipal buildings shut down on those days. EVEN COOK COUNTY COURTHOUSES WERE SHUT DOWN. And also, cold weather does NOT make you sick. Viruses do. Cold weather suppresses the immune system a little bit, but it won’t make you sick unless you’re already dealing with a virus that then gets a leg up on you.

      That being said, I think she’s great and I’m so sad this happened to her. :/ Good for her for taking care of herself and leaving, AND for talking about it! No more culture of silence around abusers! Although I’m a total hypocrite because my MeToo guy is a very famous civil litigator who does great work for marginalized communities and I’m not saying anything because I have no desire to be attacked by his supporters and fans. :/

    • Dita von Katzhausen says:

      You clearly have never worked a 16-18 hour work day out in the cold, rain or snow.

  2. kilmosnaps says:

    Well I’m glad I was right in my decision to give up on that show. I knew there was some shady business happening.

    Why does this keep happening to her? One Tree Hill/Chicago PD. She should still write that OP ed piece.

    • Tiffany says:

      Sophia is a matter of fact person who will step up if someone is wronged.

      And for that there is always someone out there who will take her down a peg for it.

    • Mia4s says:

      “Why does this keep happening to her?”

      Not that surprising really. As Emma Thompson said this kind of behaviour is “endemic to the system”. It’s not the only one, but the entertainment industry is a dumpster fire. It’s happening repeatedly to many of them, she’s just one who has chosen to speak up.

    • Veronica S. says:

      Same reason it happens everywhere else – men have the economic and sociocultural power.

    • TQB says:

      It’s not that it keeps happening to her specifically, it’s that she’s the one speaking out about it. Good for her.

  3. Lizzie says:

    i hope she lands her next gig with a female show runner who protects the people on set and is deliciously ruthless when it comes to getting rid of problem (cough cough queen shonda rhimes)

    she’s a good tv actress and seems highly professional and deserves to work in an environment where she isn’t abused and coerced into tolerating bad behavior.

    • lucy2 says:

      On the podcast she talked about her next project – not sure if it has a female showrunner, but Sophia is a producer and helping to develop it.

      I’ve always liked her a lot, and am glad she got herself out of the bad situation and has better things ahead.

      • BooRadley says:

        I had no reference point for Sophia Bush before Chicago PD, but I loved her on the show, and I tried to keep watching after she left, but she brought such heart and character and depth to that show, it honestly has not kept my attention since and now I am a season and a half behind.
        Good for her, and I will follow her wherever she lands. she has garnered a lifetime fan in me, for her work on PD and for her activism afterwards.

  4. Gina says:

    How vile! Good on her for saying something!

  5. OriginalLala says:

    I’ll never forget the great piece written by the brilliant Sarah Polley about the types of men you encounter on a set and how this pushed her to start working behind the camera…. so good, so eye opening, so worth a read!

    https://www.nytimes.com/2017/10/14/opinion/sunday/harvey-weinstein-sarah-polley.html

    • Ellaus says:

      Thank you for posting this article, I loved it, so very interesting and relatable, even though I don’t work in this bussiness.

  6. PlaidSheets says:

    I’ve tried to watch that show on reruns, but implicit condoning of violent police tactics turned me off— especially in Chicago. I had no idea she left. She was the a bright spot on the show. I’m sure they miss here.

    • AmunetMaat says:

      Same reason I never started watching it. The series began a month after the Michael Brown shooting and I really couldn’t stomach a show glorifying this type of police behavior.

  7. Scal says:

    The fact that most of the other articles I’ve seen about this story are “sophia bush left chicago PD because of the cold!” has me infuriated. Why are they all skipping over the fact that she was assaulted on set? Oh wait, I know why. *frowns*

  8. Mabs A'Mabbin says:

    I hated that guy from the get-go, and the fact that he got his job back after prison lol. I quit watching a bit after that. The show was trying to get us on his side and way of doing things. And now learning he’s like that in reality? Please write the op-ed. He needs consequences. So does the company. So does the show and all the Chicago spin-offs.

  9. Amelie says:

    After the One Tree Hill experience she had on set (she also talked about her experience breaking up with Chad Michael Murray and how the producers would mine the actors’ personal lives for storylines on the show in the same podcast interview not covered in this post) with Mark Schwan, I don’t blame her for putting her foot down. She lived that experience as a younger woman and now she’s older and not going to deal with it. The climate is one thing–even GOT actors have complained about filming in the cold in Iceland. But the focus here is how she was assaulted on set and everyone looked the other way. I’m sure the people on that show will try to scramble and say how it was handled otherwise but I 100% believe her.

  10. Vanessa says:

    I’ve been a Sophia Bush fan for years one tree hill is one my favorite show the only reason I watch Chicago pd was because of Sophia. When I heard she leaving the show I was shocked then come to find out she was mistreated its sad that the network allowed all this bad behavior to continue without putting a stop to it.

  11. Mina says:

    The culture of abuse seems rampant in NBC. I’m glad she stood up for herself and found a way out, but there must be so many people trapped in those environments that can’t be that brave because they don’t have the recognition to be an actual threat to the network.

  12. Ang says:

    Being able to handle a climate doesn’t make you stronger or cooler than other people. Everybody is different. Grow up

  13. Mia says:

    What an odd thing to flex about (I am referring to those who are bragging about how they can withstand cold weather and downing those who cannot).

    I am a born and raised Albertan and have endured some pretty brutal winters. I also have Raynauds and had to work a few outside jobs in these unpleasant winters just to pay the bills. I have also worked some brutally hot summers and the stress of many things caused me skin issues/ auto immune difficulties.

    I sympathize with Sophia on all that has happened to her in that horrible work environment and can imagine that the physical cold intertwined with the mental toxicity of the workplace was a factor for her to have had enough.

  14. Cay says:

    I don’t want to say she wasn’t abused or harassed because she probably was and that’s awful. But there are some things that don’t ring true in her statements. When they film in Chicago, they are on a huge set on the near southside of Chicago. (It’s right next door to Lagunitas Brewing Company). When they do film outside on the streets, they set up lots and lots of trailers. The “star” actors are not outside all the time. In fact, if you stand and watch what is happening during production, you rarely see the “stars” of the show. They also shoot inside location shots (like at hospitals on the west side of Chicago). And, as many have commented, you don’t get sick from the cold weather. Just ask the thousands, no millions, of Chicagoans who survive Chicago winters every year. And guess what, she doesn’t have to “commute” to work like most of us do. She can get picked up by a car service and be delivered to the set. Most of us peons, trudge through the snow, cold, and ice then hop on a packed el train full of actual sick people and suck in those germs at least twice a day and then trudge back to our radiator-heated apartments. Oy vey, the privilege here is killing me.

    Does she have any idea at how privileged she is to have the option of quitting a job for whatever reason she has? (And then going to a “wellness retreat” to understand what happened to her!) Most of us don’t have the option of just up and quitting a job. We continue to commute. We continue to deal with awful weather. We continue to put up with “abuse.” And that’s because we don’t have many other options.

    If she wanted to make a statement and to help other women, then she should have stayed in the job and had the abuser fired. As the star of that show, she had the power to do that. But she didn’t and by not doing that, she allowed/allows the environment to continue. And those who don’t have her star power have to continue to put up with crap.

    (I didn’t listen to the podcast, so I’m just going with the statements made in this article. And I don’t know who this person is and haven’t watched Chicago PD because those of us in Chicago actually have to live with Chicago PD.)

    • Lu says:

      Well, you say you read the statements in this article but you clearly didn’t. You say “she should have stayed in the job and had the abuser fired. As the star of that show, she had the power to do that.“ Bush obviously didn’t have the star power to get the abuser fired, as she had a meeting with the producers a year before she quit and told them of the problems on the set. She said she would leave if they didn’t address thrm. They didn’t address them. Not only that, instead of addressing her concerns, they effectively threatened her with breach of contract. Perhaps she didn’t throw her weight around sufficiently to satisfy you, but women often find that when they do use their ‘star power’, they still get called out for being over-privileged. She’s speaking about it publicly, so I think she deserves to be given the benefit of the doubt that she did *what she could*.

      • Cay says:

        She’s speaking out publicly about it 4 years later. How does that help other women who working there who might have been experiencing the same thing? She threatened to writer an op-ed. She should have done that. That would have exposed the public to what was going on. She had more power than most of the women working in front of or behind the scenes.

    • Tiffany :) says:

      FFS, why are people so offended that she found it to be cold!?!? None of her actual quotes about the weather are included here, it is just her statements about the ABUSE and ASSAULT she experienced while on the job. Her main focus seems to be on the assault, and not the challenging weather conditions.

      It’s so ridiculous that people are minimizing her claims of abuse because she doesn’t ride the L, or wear flip flops in the snow. I am from cold and snowy areas, and it boggles my mind why people would wear a temperature preference as a badge of honor or achievement.

      • Cay says:

        “Bush went on to explain that the conditions of working in Chicago’s extreme weather was difficult and people were getting sick all of the time.” That’s in the article above.

        FFS, I’m not “wearing a temperature preference as a badge of honor or achievement.”

      • Tiffany :) says:

        That is a generalization of her comments, not a quote. We don’t know what she actually said about the weather conditions. The actual quotes were about her abuse.

        And yes, comments like the latter half of your 1st paragraph come across as boastful, as if you are morally superior than people who don’t do the same. Just because she may get a ride to the set doesn’t mean that cold and snowy weather conditions didn’t impact her filming experience. No matter what, her quotes here make it clear that she left the show because of the abuse she experienced.

    • DS9 says:

      I don’t live in Chicago, just the south where you can count the below freezing days on two hands maybe. Winter is still a tough time fluitt me. I get sick more often, it’s effing flu season for god’s sake. My congestion is worse. On actual cold days my nose runs when it’s not stuffed up and my asthma is off the chain.

      The cold itself does not make you sicker but people do tend to pick up more germs and have a harder time getting well in the colder months.

    • Mina says:

      I get what you’re saying about privilege, but so what? If she has the luck to be able to get out of a nasty job, should she just stay in it because others can’t do it? The whole point is that it’s not really necessary to put the crew through those extreme weather conditions with the TV technology in this day and age, and having actors film scenes in the outside with cold weather they don’t get to have the luxury of appropriate gear and clothes for it, like other people whose jobs require them to work in the cold. She tried to do what she could to better the situation, in the end she chose what was healthier for her. She doesn’t owe anyone anything.

  15. Case says:

    I’m glad she walked when she was being mistreated and abused. That said…

    The weather comment is SO stupid. People all over the world have much less cushy jobs and need to work in extreme conditions all the time. What a silly thing to say.

  16. iconoclast59 says:

    I first saw this story in the Chicago Tribune; they also played up the “She couldn’t take the weather” angle — UGH. Like many Chicagoans, I get a twisted sense of pride in my ability to handle the awful winter weather we get here, but that’s because I’m sensible and dress appropriately. The commenters here made a good point saying that Sophia likely wasn’t properly dressed for the weather when she had to shoot scenes outdoors.

    The Tribune story included a quote that really highlights how her complaints were diminished and ignored: “When I started rattling off the list of what had been happening on set and was literally told to stop by my boss because, ‘This is all (expletive) I gotta call HR about, and I really don’t want to deal with this anymore,’ and I was like, ‘OK, so I’m making the right decision. I have to go.’”