Thursday, January 26th, the morning after her 31st birthday, Mischa Barton was seen on her balcony having a full-on mental breakdown, screaming about how the world was going to end and calling her estranged mother a witch. Barton’s friends and neighbours quickly alerted the authorities, citing fear of a possible suicide jumper. Help soon arrived, with Barton voluntarily being taken to Los Angeles’s Cedars-Sinai Medical Centre for a mental health evaluation. Released on Friday morning, Barton spoke to People Magazine, mentioning that she was drugged during the celebration.
“While having drinks, I realized something was not right as my behaviour was becoming erratic, continuing to intensify over the next several hours. I voluntarily went to get professional help,” She says, going on to mention that the staff informed her that she was given GHB, or gamma-Hydroxybutyric acid, a commonly known “date-rape” drug. “Let this be a lesson to all young women out there,” she continues. “Always be aware of your surroundings.” As the magazine also reported, this isn’t Barton’s first brush with a mental health scare. The actress has had a hard and long road with fame. Let’s take a walk down memory lane.
August 5, 2003: Fox premieres its new teen drama, The O.C., instantly capturing America’s youth with its daring plotlines and Abercrombie catalog cast. 17-year-old Mischa Barton, relatively unknown, quickly catapulted into Hollywood super-stardom, cementing herself as pop-culture’s new “It-Girl.” “A career full of promise,” many said, until the inevitable fame curse followed. Barton became a tabloid and paparazzi target, and Perez Hilton’s favourite personal punching-bang. After a string of DUI arrests, never-ending lawsuits, and unpaid mortgage payments, the actress had her first breakdown. After taking a sedative to ease her anxiety, she blacked out, eventually being taken to a hospital for an evaluation, where she threatened suicide, landing herself in a 5150 psychiatric ward hold. Soon, Barton slowly faded away from the limelight, living a quiet life outside of Hollywood, doing straight-to-DVD films and living the day-to-day grind.
Then came 2016: Her return to the spotlight as a cast member on Season 22 of Dancing With The Stars, naturally. Everything seemed back on track. She was signed to a new agency, there was returning interest in her acting career, a supportive Instagram following, and, most importantly, a genuine spark in her eyes. The actress eventually started opening up to the public about her past obstacles. “When I did The O.C., I think I just got to the point where I was like, ‘I’m not sure I’m enjoying this anymore,'” she says during a pre-recorded video aired prior to one of her Dancing With The Stars performances. “It was the year 2008 when the show was at its prime and I just felt like I was in a machine and I couldn’t really get off. So it was time to step back, so I went back to England and it was just a year of real self-exploration.” Hopefully, this new medical scare will serve as a reminder to Barton and the public of her long, arduous journey, and not a reminder of her past mistakes.
