Mischa Barton: OC star told to ‘sleep with Leonardo DiCaprio’ when she was 19

Barton's then-publicist told her to sleep with Leonardo DiCaprio “for the sake of your career”. Photo / AP

Mischa Barton has made a claim that she was told to bed Leonardo DiCaprio when she was 19 years old.

From the OC to A Ring of Endless Light, actress and model Mischa Barton dominated the spotlight at an early age, paving a very successful career.

However, following target="_blank">DiCaprio’s recent sighting with 19-year old model Eden Polani, a 2005 interview has resurfaced. Barton revealed in the interview that when she was 19, she was told to sleep with DiCaprio, who was 30 at the time.

The Don’t Look Up actor had just recently broken up with then-girlfriend Gisele Bündchen, who he had a shaky relationship with for six years, according to The Sun.

Barton revealed that her publicist at the time, Craig Schneider, had spotted DiCaprio at a photo shoot, and said: “For the sake of your career, go and sleep with that man”.

Later on, Barton told Harpers & Queen magazine that she had “no interest in older men”, adding: “Isn’t Leo, like, 30 or something?”.

DiCaprio has received harsh criticism after being spotted with young model Polani.

The star’s close sources have defended him against claims that he and the 19-year-old were dating after they were seen at the same function together.

After a huge uproar on social media about the Titanic star’s new supposed beau, a source stated: “They were seated next to each other at a music-listening party. There were a number of people at that event”.

The backlash comes after psychologist Jo Hemmings made a statement to The Sun that DiCaprio will end up on the shelf if he doesn’t reel back his partying ways.

Since calling it quits with his long-term girlfriend Camillia Morone, the actor has been seen partying non-stop with a variety of younger women.

GN 🌙 especially to Leo DiCaprio who is now dating the 19 year old goddess of youth. He now has a full 6 years of dating her before she gets too old. Love that for him. True love at its finest.

Fun fact: she was negative 7 years old when Titanic came out. Inspiring. pic.twitter.com/DErtZ7aSYo

— PrimeTime ☕️ (@prime_eth) February 6, 2023

Hemmings told The US Sun: “Leo’s nudging 50 yet still has this Peter Pan eternal youth to his excesses.

“He’s also a bit of a risk taker and is rarely seen without a cigarette dangling from his lips or fingers or surrounded by models.

“Otherwise, with no family responsibilities, Leo seems to be extending and celebrating both his successful career and his free personal life for as long as he can,” she said.

“As an only child of divorced parents, he’d probably have been over-indulged by both parents growing up.

“They’d have ensured that any guilt they felt at splitting up wouldn’t impact a young, talented, and impressionable Leo.

“It’s this indulgence, combined with the fact that he doesn’t have any children of his own, that has enabled him to extend his youthful behaviour and party for as long as possible.

“There are many men of his age who are already tied to all the financial and emotional commitments of having a young family.

“They might cast an envious glance at both his record of dating young, beautiful women and his seemingly carefree approach to life.”