Mischa Barton was allegedly ‘nightmare’ to work with after her The O.C bullying claims

Former “It” girl Mischa Barton recently alleged bullying on set of The O.C, and now the tables have dramatically turned.

Mischa Barton was allegedly a “nightmare” to work with on the hit teen soap “The O.C.,” a source exclusively tells Page Six.

After the US actress claimed she was “bullied” on the set of the early-aughts show, a source tells us the crew was frustrated that Barton would constantly “show up late” for filming.

“So now she wants to go say that she was bullied,” the source continued. “It wasn’t that she was bullied. People didn’t appreciate waiting for hours for her to show up.”

The source also added that Barton — who played Marissa Cooper until she exited the series in Season 3 — had a momager who was “annoying.”

“It was a mess,” the source sniffed.

In a statement to Page Six in response to the claims, Barton, 35, said, “There was a lot going on. Whether I was late or not doesn’t excuse certain behaviour from individuals in powerful positions. Everyone experiences things differently and where I acknowledge some of my past behaviour may not have been helpful in certain instances, I will tell my truth when I feel ready.”

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Mischa Barton attends the premiere of MTV's "The Hills: New Beginnings" in 2019. Picture: Amy Sussman/Getty Images/AFP

However, our source did acknowledge that her behaviour while filming The Hills: New Beginnings in 2019 was like “night and day.”

“She was definitely more mature,” the source said. “She definitely was showing up with an understanding of what her responsibilities were.”

It comes after Barton told E! in April that “bullying” by “some of the men on set” left her feeling “really s – tty” and was, in part, why she decided to leave the series.

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Mischa at the Golden Globes in 2005. Picture: Kevin Winter/Getty Images

Barton’s O.C co-stars Rachel Bilson and Melinda Clarke called the actress’ claims “perplexing” on Tuesday’s episode of their podcast, Welcome to the OC, B*tches!.

“You know Melinda and I were talking immediately after [the interview] came out. And we were just like, ‘Wait, what?’” Bilson said.

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Actors Mischa Barton and Ben McKenzie on the set of TV show 'The OC'.

Clarke, who portrayed Marissa Cooper’s mum, explained, “Someone who is 16, 17, 18 — that amount of hours of work, pressure, at such a young age — at best, you’re exhausted and at worst, it’s overwhelming and chaotic so, it kinda breaks my heart a little to know [that].”

She continued, noting that she didn’t want to speak on Barton’s behalf, “We knew there was a lot of pressure on her but if it was really that bad of an experience, that’s not right for any young person. But, some of the comments were very perplexing to me. So, I don’t know what the truth is about that. I do know that, yes, this was an enormous amount of pressure for her. And for everybody.”

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Mischa Barton became the "It" girl in Hollywood during her run on The OC.

Bilson, who played Summer Roberts on the series, added that she and Clarke chose to speak about their feelings in hopes that Barton may want to come on the show and share her perspective and what she experienced.

This story originally appeared on NY Post and has been reproduced here with permission