'The Royals' Creator Mark Schwahn Fired Over Sexual Harassment Allegations
Showrunner Mark Schwahn has been fired from "The Royals" after being investigated for sexual harassment allegations coming from the cast and crew of his former show, "One Tree Hill."
Schwahn has been fired from "The Royals" — a series he created and executive produced — after he was investigated for sexual harassment allegations coming from multiple members of the cast and crew of "One Tree Hill."
A spokesperson from Lionsgate TV, one of the series' production companies, confirmed that Schwahn has left "The Royals" and will no longer return, Variety reports.
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"We have concluded our investigation and Mark will not be returning to 'The Royals,'" said the spokesperson. However, followers of the show shouldn't be worried because season 4 is already done and set to premiere in spring next year on E!
Prior to Schwahn's exit, he was already suspended from "The Royals" when the allegations of sexual harassment against him first came out. It was triggered when TV writer Audrey Wauchope exposed Schwahn with her experiences of sexual harassment from the writer, Deadline confirmed.
Wauchope shared her story on Twitter, detailing on Schwahn's behavior when he was still running "One Tree Hill."
Soon after, multiple members of the "One Tree Hill" cast gave an open letter to shed light on Schwahn's sexual misconduct while running the show.
"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," the open letter reads.
The letter continued to tell how Schwahn's behavior has affected those he victimized, saying that some of them still receive treatment for post-traumatic stress from his actions. Meanwhile, others "had to swiftly learn to fight back" and "were put in positions where we felt physically unsafe," and some of them were even threatened to have their careers end.
Among the cast members who signed the open letter were Sophia Bush, Bethany Joy Lenz, Hilarie Burton, and Danneel Harris, who were also part of the series as main characters.
