If there's one thing that's abundantly clear from looking at the (usually) very public lives of celebrities, it's that being famous is sometimes not so great. With the public adoration also comes intense public scrutiny, and frequently about things in their lives that are really no one's business. Former Chicago P.D. and One Tree Hill star Sophia Bush has been on our TV (and movie) screens for nearly 20 years, and in that time she's learned a lot about trying to keep her life to herself, and she recently opened up about why she keeps her personal life private.
Sophia Bush has several fan-favorite roles under her belt now, with One Tree Hill's Brooke Davis and Erin Lindsay of the Chicago P.D. cast being among her most beloved parts on television. But, it would seem that she's had more than her fair share of rude awakenings when it comes to how the personal lives of famous folk are often dissected in the media, especially if those celebs happen to be female. While speaking with Entertainment Tonight about her upcoming film, False Positive, she was asked if it's intentional that she talks about issues which are important to her while keeping mum about her private life, and Bush said:
It's hard to have nothing that's yours. And when you are a person who lives in the public eye, everybody wants to pick over everything and that can be really tricky. And, I also grew up in the early aughts when girls were raked over the coals for any choices that they made. And I just was like, 'I don't think I like this.' I didn't like having my private life lied about. There were times where someone would send through an article and be like, 'Well, supposedly you're dating this guy.' And I was like, 'I mean, I would. Who is he?' Like, what is going on here?
While there are certainly a lot of well-known people who dive right in to being a very public person and seem to thrive on everyone knowing their every move, like, and dislike, there are still many who truly try to keep as much of their personal lives to themselves as possible, preferring to only talk about work. As Sophia Bush noted, it's difficult to look up one day and realize that no area of your life is just for you and your nearest and dearest. Mostly, this is because the public and/or press don't simply take in the information we receive, but also "pick over everything," leading to misconceptions, and lots of outright lies.
As Bush also said, she became famous during the early aughts, a time when women were especially prone to receiving the worst of the press / gossip due to their personal choices, and no decision ever seemed to be good enough. While we've all become more aware of this in recent months (largely thanks to the Framing Britney Spears documentary), it's not something that's been completely eradicated, and certainly won't change quickly.
Sophia Bush also explained that she simply grew tired of the narrative she found herself forced into when it came to her private life, and added:
I don't know, just eventually it bothered me, that rather than doing what we've done, talking about work, substance, education, interview shows, what we believe in, what's going on with women's rights. It would be, 'What are you wearing? And how's your boyfriend?,' and it's like, 'What does that have to do with anything about my work, my life?'... I really think the kind of gamification of people's private intimacy is just creepy to me. So I don't really hide what's going on in my life, but I don't flaunt it.
Not hiding, but also not flaunting, your personal life can be a tough line to walk for someone in the public eye, but I'd say that Sophia Bush has managed it pretty well. There will probably always be a number of celebrities who want to put their lives all out there for everyone to dig into, so when we get the famous people who'd rather not deal in that, we should all just back away and let them live their lives in peace.
Sophia Bush will next be seen this fall on CBS in Good Sam, but for more to watch in the coming weeks, check out the 2021 summer TV shows!
