Mischa Barton Reveals Some People in 'The O.C.' Set Were 'Very Mean' to Her Amid Bullying Claims

By Staff Reporter

Mischa Barton, who played Marissa Cooper in the hit TV soap "The O.C," finally opened up about her real reason of leaving 15 years after in recent bombshell interview.

Cooper, the daughter of a wealthy family, has always appeared as someone who is tragic. And still, avid watchers were shocked when her character died in a car crash at the end of the show's third season. Barton back then did not really speak about her exit from the show after her character was killed in the season three finale of the early 2000s series.

In a recent E! News interview, the 35-year-old actress broke her silence and addressed issues on her departure.

Mischa Barton Addresses Issue Why She Left In The Season 3 Finale Of 'The O.C.'

In the interview, Barton said conversations about her leaving The O.C. was a bit complicated and started "pretty early on." The actress divulged that there was sort of "general bullying" from some men on the set that she found uncomfortable to work with.

Continuing, she explained how she loved the show and the things she has to do to "build up her own walls" into dealing with the issue. "Just dealing with, like, the amount of invasion I was having in my personal life, I just felt very unprotected, I guess, is the best way to put it."

She also exclaimed that the people on the set were "very mean" to her. She even described a young, sensitive girl like her would never call her job the most ideal environment to stay who has also been thrust into stardom to have to put up with.

'The O.C.' Star Mischa Barton Decided To Move On After Being Bullied On Set

It was halfway through season two-when the cast and staff decided to double up on episodes, and shooting became a lot harder. Barton knew she cannot proceed anymore.

She also clearly remembered that the producers gave her two choices, "do you want your job and to sail off into the sunset and potentially you can come back in the future in some bizarre T.V. scenario? or, we can kill your character off and you can go on with your career that you want and what you want to do?"

Barton chose to move on. As the actress thought that her character was given a "great ending," she found it hard to bid farewell considering the series became a part of her life, she told E! News, "but there had also been some things that weren't so cool and I would be lying to say I wasn't a little bit relieved that I was going to extricate myself from that situation."

Since The O.C., Barton has acted in a movie "Star-crossed" and starred on T.V. shows like "The Hills: New Beginnings."