‘One Tree Hill’ Stars Recall Their Fights On And Off Screen

The fifth episode of season three saw the characters of One Tree Hill in an all-out fight at a midnight pep rally, but according to the former cast, it wasn’t very realistic.

“It’s not how girls fight,” said Hilarie Burton, who played “Peyton” on the show. “They pull hair.”

Two hosts of Drama Queens, the official One Tree Hill rewatch podcast, recalled the fictitious fight as well as their own scuffles from when they were younger. Bethany Joy Lenz, who played “Haley,” told her cohost about a time in fifth grade when a bully attacked her in the hall at school. It was the closest she ever came to an actual fight.

“She grabbed my hair and yanked my head back,” said Lenz. “I hit her in the face and then she let me go.”

The actress said it wasn’t a hard slap, it was more of a wild swing. Lenz said that’s how real fights go, people swinging wildly hoping they hit something. Later in the day the bully tried to fight Lenz, who decided she might as well get it over with.

“I might as well get hit by this girl and get in trouble than to keep doing this,” Lenz remembered. “I was like, ‘Okay, let’s go!’ She looked up and down at me and walked away.”

Burton’s experience involved a boy screaming in her ear and later following her home after school while throwing things at her. She also recalled fights rolling down the hallway of her high school and random students getting caught up in the brawl.

“It sounds like the pep rally rumble,” Lenz said laughing.

Listen to “Having a Brawl,” to hear the full stories from Lenz and Burton. Their podcast Drama Queens is available on the iHeartRadio app or wherever you listen to podcasts.

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