Elizabeth Hurley Calls Allegations Against ‘Royals’ Showrunner ‘Shocking Surprise’

Elizabeth Hurley, who plays the fictional Queen of England in E! Network’s The Royals, called the allegations of sexual harassment against the show’s creator a “shocking surprise.”

After writer Audrey Wauchope accused Mark Schwahn of sexual harassment when she worked on One Tree Hill, The Royals actress Alexandra Park also tweeted she felt “exposed to this reprehensible behavior.” E! Network then suspended Schwahn from working on The Royals.

On Thursday, Hurley came forward with her own statement, writing that she had “no idea” that Park felt “frightened and sexually intimidated by Mark during this time.” If she knew that, “I would have helped her. But I didn’t know.”

Hurley admitted that Schwahn “flirts and tells risqué jokes — but so do I.”

The actress continued, “To hear that there was more than this is a shocking surprise. I never witnessed it. The set of The Royals was a very happy one, full of laughter and fun. Mark was always in the centre of this and it seemed to me that the cast and crew had the most fun when Mark was directing and episode. I feel sick now to hear now that people were unhappy at that time and didn’t dare speak up.”

Hurley said it is “totally unacceptable for anyone to work in a place in which they feel unsafe” and called for measures to be put in place in every industry to help. She vowed to help anyone she sees being “treated unfairly.”

“I may have failed Alexandra, but it won’t happen again on my watch,” she concluded.

The Royals wrapped its third season in February. Park co-stars on the show as Princess Eleanor, alongside William Moseley, Vincent Regan, Jake Marshall and Tom Austen.

Photo credit: E! Network