Drake Bell, Josh Peck, Alexa Nikolas and Kenan Thompson
Alberto E. Rodriguez/Getty Pictures; Emma McIntyre/Getty Pictures; Dimitrios Kambouris/Getty Pictures; Amy Sussman/Getty Pictures
Drake Bell, Josh Peck, Kenan Thompson and Alexa Nikolas are amongst quite a few former Nickelodeon stars who spoke out following the harrowing allegations revealed in Quiet on Set: The Darkish Aspect of Children TV.
Investigation Discovery’s four-part docuseries outlines allegations of abuse, sexism, racism and inappropriate conduct involving underage stars and crewmembers on Nickelodeon TV present units run by Dan Schneider. A few of the packages talked about included The Amanda Present, Drake & Josh, Zoey 101, iCarly, Victorious and Sam & Cat.
Within the collection, former creatives and crewmembers detailed their experiences behind the digital camera, claiming they endured poisonous workplaces. Amanda Bynes, who was a distinguished younger determine on Nickelodeon within the Nineteen Nineties and early 2000s, starring in The Amanda Present and All That, was additionally often talked about all through, though she didn’t take part within the docuseries.
Under, The Hollywood Reporter has compiled feedback made by former Nickelodeon actors following the discharge of Quiet on Set.
Drake Bell
Within the third episode of the docuseries, Drake & Josh star Drake Bell shared his story for the primary time of alleged abuse he skilled by the hands of his former dialogue coach, Brian Peck, who was convicted of sexually assaulting a Nickelodeon youngster actor in 2004. On the time, the minor was known as John Doe in courtroom paperwork.
He graphically recounted the abuse within the doc, saying, “It simply received worse and worse and worse and … worse, and I used to be simply trapped and I had no method out.” Days later, in his first interview after the ID mission aired, Bell additionally opened up about his hesitations earlier than doing Quiet on Set in addition to Nickelodeon’s “empty” response, including that it “was a really well-tailored response saying, ‘Studying about his trauma,’ as a result of they couldn’t say that they didn’t find out about this or what had occurred, or something.”
Following the docuseries’ launch, Bell shared that his Drake & Josh co-star Josh Peck (who’s not associated to Brian Peck) “reached out to speak with me and assist me work by means of this and has been actually, actually nice.”
Josh Peck
On March 22, Josh Peck broke his silence about Quiet on Set, noting that it “took a couple of days to course of it.” He added in an Instagram put up, “I reached out to Drake privately, however needed to offer my help for the survivors who had been courageous sufficient to share their tales of emotional and bodily abuse on Nickelodeon units with the world. Kids must be protected. Reliving this publicly is extremely troublesome, however I hope it may well deliver therapeutic for the victims and their households in addition to essential change to our trade.”
Nancy Sullivan
Nancy Sullivan, the actress who performed Drake’s mom Audrey on Drake & Josh, has additionally shared her help for Bell. “It broke my coronary heart into 1,000,000 items to listen to simply how a lot Drake was holding inside whereas we had been working collectively,” she wrote partially on social media. “I used to be each devastated and proud seeing the person he’s grown into sit down on digital camera and bravely inform his reality.”
Devon Werkheiser, Lindsey Shaw and Daniel Curtis Lee
After receiving backlash for a joke they seemingly made about Bell, Ned’s Declassified College Survivor’s Information stars Devon Werkheiser, Lindsey Shaw and Daniel Curtis Lee took to their podcast to specific their regrets over the joke, in addition to to deal with the docuseries as a complete.
Werkheiser, who beforehand apologized to Bell on X (previously Twitter), admitted that the trio hadn’t but seen Quiet on Set after they made the “tremendous shit” joke, including, “Everybody was asking us for our opinions on it, and I get it. Now, having seen the documentary, it’s so disturbing. Now, we’ve watched it, and I get it. If I had simply watched particularly that third episode after which watched us joking like that … I might be like, ‘Are they sociopaths? Is one thing incorrect with them?’”
Shaw additionally famous that they shouldn’t have joked concerning the docuseries in any capability and been insensitive to what different folks have struggled with. “I hate that this occurred,” she mentioned. “I hate that we compounded any trauma round this example meaning a lot to every of us. I’m sorry.”
Steve Burns
Former Blue’s Clues host Steve Burns additionally shared a couple of phrases on the matter, making house for his (now grown-up) followers to share how they had been feeling.
“Hey, I’m checking in,” he mentioned in a TikTok. “Inform me what’s occurring.” Burns then waited for a response, staring into the digital camera for a minute earlier than ending with, “OK. Alright, properly, it’s good to listen to from you. You look nice, by the way in which.”
Alexa Nikolas
Zoey 101 alum Alexa Nikolas, who was among the many Nickelodeon stars to look in Quiet on Set, has remained vocal following the docuseries’ launch. She launched a YouTube video reacting to Schneider’s response to the collection, noting that she didn’t suppose he was totally taking duty for his dangerous actions. “I’m going to chop to the chase right here: You don’t really feel something, Dan. You haven’t any concept what accountability is. You’re looking for it, possibly, however you haven’t landed on it. That’s for certain. This isn’t the way in which,” she mentioned.
Talking with THR, Nikolas expanded on her personal alleged experiences with Schneider on the set of Zoey 101, together with a state of affairs that led to her deciding to go away the present for its third season.
Matthew Underwood
Matthew Underwood, who performed Logan in Zoey 101, launched a press release on Instagram sharing the traumatic experiences that made him stop performing. “I do know many people need me to answer the Quiet on Set documentary. I’m going to share one thing with you that I by no means thought I’d have to speak about publicly, because it’s actually none of your enterprise anyway,” he wrote.
The actor revealed he was groomed and molested at 12 by his finest buddies’ stepfather, dropping his finest buddies as a result of he “couldn’t spend any time with them with out feeling the non-public disgust and betrayal introduced on by a person I trusted as a father to me.”
He additionally shared that at 19, he was “sexually harassed after which assaulted” by his agent on the time, “who had spent an honest period of time constructing belief” with Underwood as a “good friend and mentor.” The actor mentioned he reported his former agent to the company and the person was fired, however he stays “lively within the trade.” This triggered Underwood to desert his performing profession and transfer out of Los Angeles.
Underwood then famous that the rationale he’s coming ahead together with his personal story is as a result of he’s acquired hate mail for not talking out after the discharge of the docuseries. “Many individuals have been blowing up my electronic mail telling me they hope me and my mother die and that we burn in hell, I’m being known as a pedophile defender and all that jazz,” he wrote.
He urged followers to be thoughtful of others who haven’t spoken up, as he imagines his buddies within the trade “are being equally harassed in the event that they aren’t becoming a member of the refrain” and sure have good, private the explanation why they haven’t mentioned what transpired at Nickelodeon.
Underwood moreover clarified that whereas he “by no means had a foul expertise engaged on set of a Nickelodeon present” and by no means personally had a foul expertise with Dan Schneider, he has chosen to “consider folks have the capability to be higher people and Dan seems to acknowledge that he has been an asshole in his previous.”
Allie DiMeco
Allie DiMeco, the actress who starred in The Bare Brothers Band as Rosalina, spoke up about her personal experiences because the launch of the docuseries. She made a TikTok saying she was “careworn” whereas watching Quiet on Set, as she additionally went by means of her personal trauma on the Nickelodeon collection.
“There was an episode the place Rosalina ‘cheated’ on Nat and type of kissed a French man,” she defined, including that she “didn’t” wish to kiss him. “He’s a 30-year-old man. I’m sorry, I couldn’t even watch it. It provides me fucking the ick, and it actually provides me PTSD,” DiMeco mentioned whereas enjoying an edited model of the present’s clip in query.
She added that she instructed the Bare Brothers Band crew “many occasions that I didn’t wish to do it. My mother was very in opposition to it they usually just about made me really feel like I used to be going to lose my job, that I is perhaps fired if I didn’t do it.”
Matt Bennett
Matt Bennett, an actor and DJ who starred in Victorious as Robbie Shapiro, shared a press release on his Instagram Story, talking out in help of the guy Nickelodeon stars. He talked about that, like most of the community’s followers, he had watched Quiet on Set. As somebody who was a part of a success collection on the community, he mentioned he spent his time watching the docuseries “making an attempt to take away myself from the state of affairs, asking, ‘If I hadn’t labored for Nickelodeon and didn’t know any of the folks concerned, would I be OK with the conduct and the therapy of others I’m seeing?’”
He realized that the reply was “No, I wouldn’t be pleased with it and I’m not OK with it.” Bennett then famous that processing what occurred to the guy Nickelodeon youngster stars is “just a little too actual for me proper now and there are some psychological pretzels” he has to work on undoing. He moreover shared that he’s devoted to “assist in any method I can to place extra safeguards in place to guard younger actors.”
Kenan Thompson
Whereas showing on The Tamron Corridor Present on March 27, Kenan Thompson, who began his profession on All That after which starred in his personal present Kenan & Kel, additionally voiced his help. He mentioned that although he didn’t share the identical experiences as different Nickelodeon stars, he stands by their resolution to talk out.
As a result of all this stuff occurred after I left, principally, and Dan [Schneider] wasn’t actually on Kenan & Kel like that. I imply, he received a ‘created by’ credit score, however it was a distinct showrunner. So our worlds weren’t actually overlapping outdoors of all that, essentially. After which all that negativity type of began taking place outdoors of our tenure there,” Thompson defined.
He added, “I feel it’s a superb factor that the doc is out, and it’s placing issues on show that should be, , tales that should be instructed for this, accountability sake. Nevertheless it’s undoubtedly robust to look at as a result of I’ve fond reminiscences of that place, and I’ve fond reminiscences of my co-stars and stuff like that. So to listen to that they’ve gone by means of horrible issues like that, it’s simply, it’s actually robust.”
Chris Massey
In the meantime, after his mom took to Instagram to defend Dan Schneider, calling him a “genius” and asking for the blame to be positioned on the dad and mom as a substitute of the showrunner, Zoey 101 star Chris Massey launched his personal assertion on the social media platform. He wrote, “My story can be instructed from me…. not from a mum or dad, a good friend, a co-worker… ME!!! and solely ME… so please cease messaging me about what my mother mentioned… respectfully.”
The primary 4 episodes of Quiet on Set: The Darkish Aspect of Children TV are at present streaming on Max, with a fifth episode, Breaking the Silence, airing on April 7.