Mischa Barton Compares Dancing with the Stars to The Hunger Games

Once again, Mischa Barton couldn't wait to get off a hit show fast enough.

Less than a year after the O.C. alum was eliminated from Dancing with the Stars, Barton got candid about her experience on the competition series with The Ringer. "Ugh," Barton groaned. "I had no idea it would be so bad."

The actress joined Season 22 of the hit show, in which she was partnered with Artem Chigvintsev, after being courted to compete for years. What made her finally give in was when she was promised a degree of creative control over her performances. Unfortunately, this turned out to be an empty promise, the actress claimed.

"I got told off by my dancer. I was supposed to control the costumes, I was told that I could do the design aspect of it, that's kind of the reason why I agreed to do it," she said. "That didn't happen. It wasn't collaborative like a choreographer on a film set ... I was so confused by it. It was like The Hunger Games. It was all a popularity contest. It was awful. I was so glad to get kicked off."

Barton's unhappiness with the competition -- and with her partner Chigvinstsey -- was easily visible to viewers, and so it was no surprise when the pair was eliminated during the second episode.

However, ahead of her elimination Barton did her best to put on a happy face. When speaking with TVGuide.com, she called her experience on the series "really fun."

"That wasn't really represented," she said at the time, "but it's really fun. That's not the angle you ended up seeing. I'm loving it."