Sketchy Things Everyone Just Ignores About Mischa Barton
Actress Mischa Barton became famous for playing Marissa Cooper on the FOX drama The O.C., but between a high-profile arrest and what she now refers to as a "full-on breakdown," the troubled actress has experienced more drama than, well, Cooper herself. Just how bad have things gotten for the former teen star? Let's look at her many run-ins with the tabloids.
She was arrested
During the peak of The O.C.'s fame, Barton became a fixture on the Hollywood party scene, joining the ranks of fellow tabloid targets Lindsay Lohan and Kelly Osbourne. "We thought, 'Work hard, play hard,'" she later told People magazine in 2013. "It was a train I could not get off of. When you're young, you can do it, but after a while, it's going to come crashing down on you."
And that it did. Barton was was hospitalized in May 2007 after reportedly mixing prescription medication with alcohol. Over the holidays that year, she was arrested and charged for DUI and driving without a valid license by the Los Angeles Police Department. At the time, People reported that Barton "was seen straddling two lanes of traffic and...failed to signal when making a turn." In April 2008, she was sentenced to three years unsupervised probation and ordered to complete a three-month alcohol-education class and pay a $2,000 fine.
Barton later spoke to Ryan Seacrest (via People) about her bad behavior. "Obviously I'm 100 percent responsible for my actions in this case," she said. "I'm really disappointed in myself. I don't know what to say about it, except that I'm not perfect, and I just don't ever intend to do something this stupid again."
She left The O.C.
Barton infamously left The O.C. at the end of Season 3. At the time, rumors circulated that her departure was "not a mutual decision." and that her on-set behavior may have hastened her exit. For what it's worth, creator Josh Schwartz told The Huffington Post that killing off Barton's character "was a hundred percent a creative decision for the show." Ten years later, he told The Hollywood Reporter that the situation was "complicated" and involved "a lot off factors." Schwartz said he and producer Stephanie Savage "still wrestle with" that choice. The O.C. was canceled by FOX after Season 4.
She had a 'full-on breakdown'
In July 2009, Barton's partying ways had allegedly gotten so out of control that her parents and agents feared she was unfit to fly to New York for an upcoming event, so they staged an intervention. According to People, Barton had taken a "powerful sedative to combat anxiety" and blacked out shortly after the meeting. The young actress was subsequently rushed to the hospital, People said, where she became so out of control that she threatened suicide. Barton's threat forced staff at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center to admit her to the psych ward for four days. "It was a full-on breakdown," Barton admitted to People in 2013. "It was terrifying. Straight out of [the movie] Girl, Interrupted. Story of my life."
"I was never suicidal," she clarified. "I was just overworked and depressed. But one slip of the tongue in a heightened moment and you find yourself in that situation." She continued: "I was deeply hurt at first, and then I accepted this was time I needed to be away from work, my family and all the pressure. I had been through the wringer."
Her comeback show was canceled after two episodes
Barton's no-good-dirty-rotten 2009 only got worse in September when The CW unceremoniously canceled her comeback series, The Beautiful Life: TBL, after just two episodes. According to E! News, Barton's health woes had been a headache for the show's production schedule. Even worse, the show—about a bunch of pretty models and their first-world problems—totally tanked in the ratings, earning just 1.5 million for its debut episode and 1 million for its last. Barton hasn't starred in a major television series since.
She faced major financial problems
In recent years, Barton has made headlines for her reported financial woes. It all began in 2014 when TMZ said Barton was facing a threat of foreclosure on her Beverly Hills mansion after failing to pay about $100,000 in back mortgage payments. According to TMZ, the house had been a financial burden on Barton for years; she's been trying to sell it periodically since 2010. It was put up for sale again in March 2016 for nearly $7.5 million.
Barton's real estate drama spilled into a 2015 lawsuit she filed against her mother and manager, Nuala Barton. Barton accused her mom of pilfering part of her salary and kicking her out of her own home, according to TMZ. The lawsuit was dropped by Barton in March 2016, reported Radar Online.
Meanwhile, two separate car companies came after Barton over unpaid payments. In September 2015, TMZ reported that Barton had missed four months' worth of car payments on her Audi Q3, and as a result, the leasing company was demanding full payment of the car, worth about $40,000. The following year, Volkswagen filed a case against Barton alleging she owed more than $25,000 worth of payments on a leased car, reported TMZ.
If that wasn't enough, Barton was also sued in 2014 for allegedly bailing on the movie Promoted at the last minute because she was vacationing in Europe. Great!
She allegedly had a meltdown on Dancing with the Stars
In April 2016, Radar Online reported that Barton had an "epic backstage meltdown" after she was eliminated from the most recent season of Dancing with the Stars. "She acted so rude after the show ended last night," one source alleged. "Mischa did not even seem to want to say goodbye to anyone. There were hardly any hugs or farewells."
Barton's frustrations with the show were previously caught on camera. "Misha just never seemed into it from day one," the Radar Online source said. "And her behavior certainly didn't win her many friends on set." Things allegedly got so bad, the source claimed some staffers now think Mischa is "the most self-entitled and rude celebrity that the employees of the show have ever had to work with." Yowch.
Her reaction to Alton Sterling's death drew major criticisms
In July 2016, Barton was heavily criticized for posting on Instagram what many felt was an insensitive response to the death of Alton Sterling, a black man shot by a white police officer in Baton Rouge, La. on July 5, 2016. Although Barton wrote an admittedly heartfelt caption, the message she hoped to get across was drowned out by the accompanying photo, which showed Barton holding a glass of wine while riding on a yacht in a bikini.
"This is so tone deaf," wrote one follower. "Please reconsider how you are making this tragedy about you, asking 'someone' to fix the problems, rather than seeking out constructive ways to actually make a difference."
Barton's controversial post was soon deleted.