One Tree Hill men support female costars speaking out against creator Mark Schwahn

Many of the men of One Tree Hill, including Chad Michael Murray, Bryan Greenberg, Austin Nichols, and James Lafferty, are showing support for the female cast and crew members accusing the show’s creator, Mark Schwahn, of sexual harassment and physical and emotional manipulation.

Sophia Bush, Hilarie Burton, Bethany Joy Lenz, and 15 other women who worked on the hit series, which ran from 2003-2012, released a joint letter Monday to “stand together in support” of each other and writer Audrey Wauchope, who alleged on Twitter that she was subjected to unwanted touching and other forms of harassment by Schwahn.

The letter states that “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. More than one of us is still in treatment for post-traumatic stress. Many of us were put in uncomfortable positions and had to swiftly learn to fight back, sometimes physically, because it was made clear to us that the supervisors in the room were not the protectors they were supposed to be. Many of us were spoken to in ways that ran the spectrum from deeply upsetting, to traumatizing, to downright illegal. And a few of us were put in positions where we felt physically unsafe. More than one woman on our show had her career trajectory threatened.”

A representative for Schwahn did not immediately respond to EW’s request for comment about the allegations.

Since the letter’s release, male cast members have commented to show their support. Murray released the following statement to EW:

Further, Greenberg admitted he was “shocked and saddened to hear what the women of OTH had to endure,” while Nichols noted, “We have to be better.” Lafferty said he applauds “every woman on OTH, every woman on earth, who stands up to a system that has failed them in the past.”

See more of their comments below:

Several additional actresses and female crew members on One Tree Hill also chimed in to show support and add their names to the 18 listed in the initial joint letter.