‘The Difference in Pay Scale Was Wild’

The 43-year-old actress recently offered a candid look into the pocket book of a successful network television star, revealing the surprisingly low take-home salary she received during her early years starring on the hit CW series — while some of her costars were banking much more.

Bush, who played beloved character Brooke Davis for nine seasons (2003–2012), opened up about the major disparity in pay during an episode of the Networth and Chill With Your Rich BFF podcast recorded during a Tech Futures panel on Wednesday, November 12. 

“I’m really gonna bum you out,” Bush said when host Vivian Tu asked about how much money she made while on the show. The One Tree Hill alum first broke down the expenses that severely diminished her paycheck, explaining that despite being a main character on a long-running show, her net earnings were meager.

“Once I paid 10 percent to my managers, 10 percent to my agents, five percent to my lawyers, a publicist fee, my taxes, and the $3,000-a-month that my two-bedroom apartment in Wilmington cost me,” Bush stated, “I was taking home about $3,000 per episode.”

The actress noted that because One Tree Hill was her first full-time professional acting role, she lacked the leverage to negotiate a higher salary initially. “Everybody was coming from something,” she said as she reflected on the differences among the cast members, adding, “The difference in pay scale was wild.”

Bush explained that she was the only member of the original cast who didn’t have prior professional credits, while others, like costars Hilarie Burton and Bethany Joy Lenz, were coming from backgrounds like being an MTV VJ or a soap opera star.

The Grey’s Anatomy star also noted that there was little room for renegotiation because of the length of the contract she was locked in.

“When you sign a TV contract, you sign a contract for six years. They can cancel your show at any time, but you can’t leave or ask for a raise because you’re on a six-year deal,” said the actress.

The issue of unequal compensation reportedly persisted for years. Bush revealed that cast members were discouraged from attempting to negotiate raises, as they were allegedly told the show was “on the verge of getting cancelled.”

However, the situation changed ahead of Season 4 when her legal team intervened. Bush’s representatives reportedly told the studio, “Listen, we know none of the girls are making what the boys are making. But you cannot pay her a third of what the woman making the least amount of money on the show is making.”

After the negotiations, Bush achieved a raise, but the pay gap remained significant. She disclosed that even with the increase, she was “finally being paid equally to the second-lowest paid woman on the cast,” which translated to being paid “under 20 percent of what my male costar was making on the show.”

Additionally, Bush pointed out the long-term financial consequences of signing contracts two decades ago, noting that because streaming services didn’t exist when the show premiered, she and her castmates receive no residuals from the show’s popular run on streaming platforms such as Hulu, Disney+ and HBO Max. The studio, she explained, “makes all the residuals, and we don’t.”

“Look, it is what it is. That’s the breaks. Still a champagne problem,” she confessed, expressing gratitude for still being able to be a part of the show. 

The actress has since become an outspoken advocate for fair pay and workplace equality, noting that it took her two decades in the industry before she finally earned a pay rate equal to her male counterparts.

“It’s always a hustle,” Bush said. “It took me 20 years in this industry, doing 15 straight years of network TV without taking a year off … literally, year 20 was the first time I got paid equally to my male costar.”