Bethany Joy Lenz claims she was given a shockingly blunt explanation of One Tree Hill, before signing on to spend nine seasons as Haley James Scott.
In her upcoming memoir Dinner for Vampires, the actress recalls having an awkward conversation with her manager, hours before her final chemistry read for the show. Lenz said it was the night before her screen test when she got a call from her manager, who had just spoken to an executive from the show.
"I have a direct quote that I’ve been asked to relay to you, to make sure you know exactly what you’re getting into before you sign this contract,” Lenz recalled her manager saying. She was then told exactly what the exec had said: “You tell her this show is about f---ing and sucking and if she’s gonna have a problem with that, she shouldn’t come in tomorrow.”
As Lenz recalls it, both her and her manager were speechless. But after a moment, she began giving the comment some serious thought.
At this point, Lenz — who was raised as an evangelical Christian — had previously turned down the opportunity to star in the Amanda Bynes sitcom, What I Like About You because she worried that playing a woman who lived with her boyfriend would “normalize ‘living in sin’ for young girls." (The role was instead filled by Jennie Garth.)
But despite the blunt warning about One Tree Hill, Lenz didn’t want to give up her pursuit of the show.
In her memoir, Lenz explains that she was attracted to the show because it “felt different from most bubble-gum TV with subliminal agendas.” She had no interest in limiting her career to stereotypical faith-based dramas that “lacked the complexity and nuance of real-life.”
She added, “Grit didn’t scare me, and the One Tree Hill pilot had grit.”
She was also comforted to know that she would fill the role of the “awkward girl next door” who she identified as the "most wholesome" member of the main cast.
"I didn’t feel too at risk of being objectified,” she wrote. “I believed in this show and its ability to send meaningful, uplifting messages to the audience.”
So she told her manager to pass her interest along: “Just tell him I understand what he’s saying. I’m not gonna try and stop them from writing about real teenagers. I believe in this show and I want to be a part of it.”
The next day, Lenz went to the chemistry read where she met Chad Michael Murray and landed the gig in the room.
Though she would stick with the show throughout its entire nine-season run, Lenz wrote that the “f---ing and sucking” comment would come back to haunt her whenever she made an effort to push back against creative decisions — including being asked to film a scene while wearing only a bra.
"When I stood my ground as a matter of religious modesty, my manger would get a call, 'She’s being difficult again. We told you what this show was about,’” Lenz wrote. “And, in fairness, they did. The ‘f---ing and sucking’ executive has been very clear about that. I guess I just looked at my character and figured that would be other people’s storylines.”
