‘The Royals’ Star Alexandra Park Accuses Suspended Showrunner Of Harassment
Alexandra Park, who plays Princess Eleanor on the E! series The Royals, has released a public statement to say that she has been sexually harassed by the show’s creator, Mark Schwahn. Alexandra Park’s complaint comes on the heels of similar statements from Schwahn’s previous show One Tree Hill.
Alexandra Park, who has been on the E! scripted series The Royals since the beginning says she has been the victim of harassment and misconduct at the hands of Schwahn, who is also the creator of The Royals. Alexandra Park posted her statement on her Twitter page on Wednesday.
“I have a responsibility as someone who was working under Mark Schwahn on The Royals to acknowledge these claims. I am devastated to admit to myself, to my colleagues, and to this industry that I too, have been exposed to this reprehensible behavior.”
On Wednesday, Schwahn was suspended from his role as showrunner on The Royals, which is produced by Lionsgate Television and Universal Cable Productions, as a result of Alexandra Park’s complaint. The fourth season of The Royals just completed shooting in September for the new season which will air in March, so filming won’t be disrupted.
Alexandra Park credits the others who have come forward with their experiences with giving her the courage to speak out about her experience with Schwahn on The Royals.
Mark Schwahn was called out previously for similar behavior on the other show he created, One Tree Hill. One of the show writers, Audrey Wauchope, wrote a letter on Twitter over the weekend that alleged that an unnamed man, who turned out to be Schwahn, had harassed her on a television series.
“He’s a man in a position of power who was allowed to run a television show for years where this behavior continuously went on. Sometimes we wouldn’t luck out and he’d just squeeze his disgusting body in between us and put his arms around us, grinning. He pet hair. He massaged shoulders. I know he did more but not to me so they’re not my stories to share.”
After Wauchope posted her letter, 18 others who worked on One Tree Hill came forward, including Sophia Bush and Hilarie Burton, accusing Mark Schwahn of misconduct. The group drafted a letter claiming that Mark Schwahn, 51 had left some of them with PTSD. They claim that Schwahn had “manipulated them psychologically and emotionally.”
Alexandra Park of The Royals read the letter from the women who worked on One Tree Hill and penned her own complaint on Twitter.
E! responded quickly to Alexandra Park’s accusations that showrunner Mark Schwahn had behaved in a similar manner toward her on the set of The Royals that was alleged by the women from One Tree Hill and suspended him from The Royals pending further investigation.
In response, Park thanked the studio and the network for “taking the actions necessary to make things right” by suspending Mark Schwahn from the set of The Royals.
[Featured Image by Evan Agostini/AP Images]
