Actresses and female crew members of the drama series The Royals on E! Entertainment are now speaking out to - detailing the ongoing and shocking sexual harassment from the series creator and showrunner Mark Schwahn who has been suspended this week.
Mark Schwahn was suspended after a barrage of sexual harassment allegations against him, made by the female cast and crew of his previous and longrunning series One Tree Hill.
In a joint statement on Thursday, signed by 25 actresses - including The Royals regular Merritt Patterson as well as several guest-starring and recurring actresses and crew members - they slam Mark Schwahn over the "repeated unwanted sexual harassment of multiple female members of cast and crew".
On Wednesday The Royals star, Alexandra Park, in a statement said that "I too, have been exposed to this reprehensible behaviour".
In a statement Elizabeth Hurley says "I feel sick to hear now that people were unhappy at that time and didn't dare speak up".
"It's totally unacceptable for anyone to work in a place where they feel unsafe. Measures must be put in place in every industry so that anyone who is experiencing intimidation can seek help."
Filming on the 4th season of The Royals, produced by Lionsgate Television and Universal Cable productions, ended in September. It's not yet known if the show has been renewed for a 5th season.
Here is the statement of The Royals actresses and female crew:
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 Royals 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 forward.
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.
