Mischa Barton opened way up during an appearance opposite Dr. Phil on Monday.
Among the topics touched on by the trouble former star of The OC:
Her recent mental breakdown; a sex tape an ex-boyfriend is threatening to leak; and all the misconceptions about her floating around out there within the public realm.
First, of course, we have to talk about that sex tape.
Barton believes it was recorded without her knowledge by a past lover named Jon Zacharias.
In an earlier press conference, both Barton and her attorney referred to Zacharias’ motivations for releasing the footage online as a form of “revenge porn.”
Said the actress a few weeks ago about the scandal:
“This is a painful situation and my absolute worst fear was realized when I learned that someone that I thought I loved and trusted was filming my most intimate and private moments, without my consent, with hidden cameras.”
She reiterated a similar sentiment on Dr. Phil yesterday.
“I feel very conned by the whole thing. It’s somebody I trusted, somebody I thought I loved,” Barton said, confessing that she had only known Zacharias for a total of “3 or 4 weeks” when she slept with him on tape.
Barton takes responsibility for her decision to let Zacharias into her life, saying she got too close to him too quickly during an especially vulnerable period.
“People have a way of finding you,” she said.
“They can really work their way into your lives if they have an evil purpose like this in so many different ways. And you can be manipulated in so many different ways.
“It’s just absolutely shocking that they would want to and that they would have this kind of master plan from the second you meet somebody that you have to now fear or think that they might be trying to do something like that to you, and that’s horrible.”
Barton believes the sex tape filming was pre-mediated.
In her sit-down with Dr. Phil, Barton doesn’t shy away from the other reason she made headlines this winter:
She suffered some kind of mental breakdown in January, with neighbors claiming she was rambling incoherently in her backyard and some reports alleging she was barely wearing any clothing at the time.
“The paramedics said I showed all the symptoms of [date rape drug[ GHB, and I know I was drugged,” she insisted. “I’ve never behaved like that from drinking or anything, but I am certain.”
Barton detailed on air how she awoke at Cedars Sinai Hospital after blacking out during the “terrifying” and “horrifying” experience.
“I certainly didn’t want to kill myself,” she told Dr. Phil when asked if there was anything she’d like to clear up about the situation.
“I want to make it very clear that I would not lie about these things. It’s just not in my character.”
The actress has been through a great deal over the last decade or so. She was arrested for DUI in 2007 and was placed on a 5150 psychiatric hold in 2009.
Does she regret those incidents? Yes.
But she also blames members of her entourage/team who should have been keeping a closer eye on her while she was taking medication.
“One of the biggest misconceptions is that I’m a spoiled rich girl,” she says, adding:
“People find it convenient, they attach you to one particular thing. So I suppose that.
“And yeah, the fact that people think I’m crazy. That’s another good one.”
It’s been easy to make a lot of fun of Mischa Barton over the years. But we really do wish her the best.