Sophia Bush Elaborates On Her Decision To Leave Chicago P.D.

When Sophia Bush announced her departure from the hit NBC procedural series, Chicago P.D., many fans were shocked by her decision. The show was extremely popular and it seemed like a dream job for any actress. Bush has made few comments about why she left and while she still hasn’t given the exact reason, a recent interview that was conducted on Refinery’s 29 Unstyled podcast, provides a bit more insight into her decision.

Bush states that even though that she was working at her dream job that she knew she “couldn’t do the job anymore” by the end of the second season. This seems surprising because this means she knew early on that things weren’t right for her and that this decision wasn’t made at the last minute and wasn’t an emotional reaction.

During the interview, Bush expressed her gratitude for being on the show but made it clear that she told her bosses if some things didn’t change that she would take leave. Bush states:

“If something really drastic doesn’t change, I’m leaving at the end of the year. Because I understand how the business works and how women are treated — I said, ‘I’m giving you not two weeks notice and I’m not coming in here throwing shit and breaking lamps and saying I’m never coming back. I’m giving you 23 episodes notice.”

Bush went on to say:

“I’m giving you that much time,” so there will be no conversation in which I was hysterical, emotional, in which I was being a quote ‘irrational female’ or whatever you want to put on it. I’m literally sitting in front of you like cool as a cucumber.If this has to be like a big swinging-dick competition, I promise you I will win. But know this now: If we’re not having a very different conversation by Christmas, then you know with 100 percent certainty in December that come the end of April, I’m leaving.”

Bush has said the conversation was “liberating” but she didn’t into specifics of what exactly made it a working environment that she couldn’t tolerate anymore but she did indicate she would discuss it when the time was right.


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About Gaius Bolling 3795 Articles
At the age of five, I knew I wanted to write movies and about them. I've set out to make those dreams come true. As an alumni of the Los Angeles Film Academy, I participated in their Screenwriting program, while building up my expertise in film criticism. I write reviews that relate to the average moviegoer by educating my readers and keeping it fun. My job is to let you know the good, the bad, and the ugly in the world of cinema, so you can have your best moviegoing experience. You can find more of my writing on Instagram @g_reelz.