Mischa Barton is opening up about a sex tape that was filmed by her ex-boyfriend without her consent, recalling the “complete emotional abuse” that she suffered during the ordeal.
During an interview for “The Dr. Phil Show” scheduled to air on Monday, Barton said that the abuse lasted for “several months.”
“It was a crime. It is a serious crime to tape people without their knowledge like that and I had made the mistake of putting myself in that situation with the person so I just removed myself from it as quickly as I could, and then it just continued to be complete emotional abuse after that for the last several, several months,” “The O.C.” alum said.
Barton also recalled how she learned about the existence of the tape.
“Somebody came up to me on the street… and said, ‘There’s something I need to tell you,’ and I didn’t believe it at first, I couldn’t believe it,” Barton said. “Because I had loved this person and I didn’t think it was possible,” Barton said. “And I later learned that it was entirely possible.”
Earlier this month, the Daily Mail reported that an “x-rated video” featuring Barton “is being shopped around Hollywood.”
According to the Daily Mail’s report, the video “shows Barton having sex with a dark haired man” and “is being offered to the highest bidder with the starting price of $500,000.”
In a subsequent press conference with her attorney Lisa Bloom, Barton told reporters, “I’ve been put through an incredibly hard and trying time. This is a painful situation, and my absolute worst fear was realized when I learned that someone I thought I loved and trusted was filming my most intimate and private moments, without my consent with hidden cameras.”
The actress added, “And then I learned something even worse — that somebody is trying to sell these videos and make them public.”
Barton has obtained restraining orders against two ex-boyfriends, Jon Zacharias and Adam Shaw. The orders state that Zacharias and Shaw “may not sell, distribute, give away or show any naked photos or videos of any type of Mischa Barton.”
According to the orders, Barton began dating Zacharias in October, and during their “brief time together” he “recorded me having sex with him, taking a shower and took other naked pictures of me WITHOUT MY PERMISSION OR KNOWLEDGE. Jon is trying to sell those tapes without my permission for $500,000.”