Sophia Bush defends attending Peter Thiel-linked secret society event: 'My values are very clear'

Ryan ColemanFri, June 19, 2026 at 3:41 AM UTC

0

Sophia Bush in New York City in 2026Credit: Rob Kim/GettyKey Points -

Sophia Bush is clarifying why she was named in a leak revealing individuals linked to Dialog, the secretive, invite-only society Peter Thiel co-founded in 2006.

Bush took to social media to say she attended "a lot of conferences" to support Another Body, the documentary she executive produced in 2023, to take action "against Al deepfake abuse."

"My values are very clear and consistent. I work to protect families-by defending democratic institutions and safeguarding basic human rights," the One Tree Hill alum wrote.

Sophia Bush is standing firm in her values.

The One Tree Hill alum has joined a small chorus of famous voices speaking out after being named in a leak relating to Dialog, a secretive, invite-only group founded by billionaire tech mogul Peter Thiel in 2006.

Following an original report published by WIRED on Tuesday, which first uncovered documents detailing Dialog's inner workings, The Hollywood Reporterdug into the group's entertainment industry connections on Wednesday. The outlet revealed notable names contained both within the group's member registry and in materials related to a conference near Dublin planned for August.

Among those names — Josh Brolin, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Scooter Braun, and Bush. First, a representative for Brolin provided a flippant comment to THR; then Gordon-Levitt offered his own lengthy explanation on social media. Bush followed suit, posting a statement to her Instagram stories on Thursday in which she confirmed her attendance at a Dialog conference, condemned its connection to Thiel, and insisted, "My values are very clear and consistent. I work to protect families — by defending democratic institutions and safeguarding basic human rights."

Sophia Bush on Instagram on June 18Credit: Sophia Bush/Instagram

"I go to a lot of conferences and have for close to 20 years. Last year (and the year before), I accepted nearly every single invitation I received to discuss Another Body," a documentary she executive produced in 2023 "that explains and demands action be taken against Al deepfake abuse."

Bush pointed to her work championing the DEFIANCE Act, a bipartisan bill that aims to provide legal tools to combat sexually explicit images produced using AI without their subject's consent.

For that reason, "You can imagine my surprise to learn that a conference I was invited to as a guest who could counter the 'it's-all-progress' narrative of this seeming runaway Al race was founded by someone you could not pay me to be in a room with, let alone charge me money to be in a room with," Bush explained. "To be clear, that individual was not present, was never brought up during my experience there at all, and as I've since learned he has not been involved whatsoever in approximately 15 years."

Advertisement

Unambiguous in her condemnation of AI deepfakes, which she says brought her to the Dialog conference, Bush nevertheless offered a nuanced reflection on her attendance.

"I did find the conference weekend valuable, in the same way I find it valuable to meet with and important to engage with people who see the world differently than I do in addition to the work I do alongside likeminded allies," she wrote. At the same time, "I do wish I would have researched the event beforehand, but even if I had, I probably still would have gone because I firmly believe that having women standing up for women (and ringing alarm bells about our common and dangerous experiences with emerging technology) in rooms like these is of paramount importance."

Ultimately, Bush said that she is "proud of who I am in any room where I am advocating. And I'm proud of the values I brought into those conference rooms and conversations I had while there, and I feel the same way about the other artists and activists I attended with."

Peter Thiel in Cambridge, England in 2024Credit: Nordin Catic/Getty

The records relating to Dialog were first obtained by the Swiss hacker and activist maia arson crimew. WIRED was able to independently verify the contents of an alleged member registry, and obtained a separate registration list for Dialog's planned 2026 retreat from a separate source.

When reached for comment for the THR story, a representative for Brolin snarked that the Sicario star would "like to know what the f--- he got himself into." Gordon-Levitt also denied any association with Thiel in a Thursday Instagram post, writing that his focus on "trying to make a positive impact on how the future unfolds, especially when it comes to tech and Al" has sometimes meant "forming relationships with all kinds of people, trying to understand their perspective, and trying to get them to understand mine. Sometimes it's productive to engage with those we oppose."

Entertainment Weekly has reached out to representatives for Bush, Brolin, Gordon-Levitt, and Braun for comment.

on Entertainment Weekly

Original Article on Source

Source: “AOL Entertainment”