CONTENT WARNING: This article discusses child sexual abuse.
Disgraced Nickelodeon golden boy Dan Schneider has done an interview of his own after the chilling documentary Quiet on Set: The Dark Side of Kids TV aired allegations he terrorised former writing staff.
The documentary series exposed harrowing allegations from former child stars and staff about the conditions they faced on set and behind the scenes of iconic children’s shows, including sexual abuse from Nickelodeon staff and a volatile work environment at the hands of Schneider.
Former staff writers who worked with Schneider accused him of misogyny and degrading treatment of female writers. At one point, he allegedly made a female writer bend over a desk and pretend to be sodomised while she was telling a story about high school.
“Watching over the past two nights was very difficult,” he said in an interview on Tuesday with BooG!E (AKA Bobby Bowman), who played T-Bo in iCarly.
“Me facing my past behaviors, some of which are embarrassing and that I regret, I definitely owe some people a pretty strong apology.”
Schneider — who produced The Amanda Show, Drake & Josh, Zoey 101, iCarly, Victorious and Sam & Cat — said he could “see the hurt in some people’s eyes” while watching the documentary, which made him feel “awful and regretful and sorry.”
“I wish I could go back, especially to those earlier years of my career, and bring the growth and the experience that I have now and just do a better job and never, ever feel like it was okay to be an asshole to anyone, ever.”
The documentary also highlighted multiple scenes Schneider wrote for children’s shows which appeared to reference porn, including a scene where goo was squirted onto Jamie Lynn Spears‘ face in Zoey 101. Former cast member Alexa Nikolas said she was uncomfortable because of comments male colleagues made about it resembling “a cum shot”.
In a scene for Victorious, Ariana Grande was filmed laying upside down with her head hanging off a bed, while water was dribbled down her face, chin and into her mouth in camera work that resembles porn videos. She was also filmed squeezing a potato while moaning and groaning to “juice” it, sticking her fingers in her mouth and down her throat, and rolling around her bed while licking her toes.
“Every one of those jokes was written for a kid audience because kids thought they were funny, and only funny,” Schneider claimed in the interview.
“Let’s cut those jokes out of the show, just like I would have done 20 years ago or 25 years ago.
“I want my shows to be popular. I want everyone to like [the shows], the more people who liked the shows, the happier I am. So if there’s anything that needs to be cut because it’s upsetting somebody, let’s cut it.”
Schneider’s team has issued several apologies since the documentary series aired — including an apology for asking female writers and child stars for massages and other inappropriate conduct.
However, his team maintained the television scenes he wrote were innocent.
“Everything that happened on the shows Dan ran was carefully scrutinized by dozens of involved adults, and approved by the network,” a spokesperson for Schneider wrote, per The Hollywood Reporter.
“Had there been any scenes or outfits that were inappropriate in any way, they would have been flagged and blocked by this multilayered scrutiny.
“Remember, all stories, dialogue, costumes, and makeup were fully approved by network executives on two coasts. A standards and practices group read and ultimately approved every script, and programming executives reviewed and approved all episodes. In addition, every day on every set, there were always parents and caregivers and their friends watching filming and rehearsals.”
Dan Schneider was not the only subject of the documentary. It also explored the safety of children on set, and revealed that two child stars — one being Drake Bell from Drake & Josh — were sexually abused by Nickelodeon staff.
All four episodes of the documentary have now aired in the US, but there’s currently no word of when it will be available in Australia. Stay tuned.
Image: Getty / Youtube @DanWarp
Help is available.
- If you require immediate assistance, please call 000.
- If you’d like to speak to someone about sexual violence, please call the 1800 Respect hotline on 1800 737 732 or chat online.
- Under 25? You can reach Kids Helpline at 1800 55 1800 or chat online.
