Dan Schneider responds to Nickelodeon expose 'Quiet on Set'
All the shocking allegations made in Nickelodeon docuseries Quiet on Set
Dan Schneider has responded to claims made in the explosive new docuseries with a 19-minute video apology.
By Ella Sangster
This article discusses sexual harassment and/or assault. If these issues affect you or someone you love, read on with caution, and please contact 1800 RESPECTfor support.
IN THE LATE '90s and early 2000s, Nickelodeon was a powerhouse. The American network produced some of the period's most popular children's television shows-but a new docuseries alleges that behind the scenes was a toxic culture and pattern of gross, abusive, and manipulative behaviour that unfolded across decades.
An Investigation Discover project, Quiet On Set: The Dark Side Of Kids TV shines a spotlight on the murky side of the world of children's television. The four-part series focuses specifically on the sets run by Dan Schneider, who created some of the network's most popular shows including The Amanda Show, Drake & Josh, Victorious and iCarly.
Per a press release, Quiet On Set lifts the lid on, an insidious environment rife with allegations of abuse, sexism, racism, and inappropriate dynamics with its underage stars and crew."
In addition to featuring staffers who make some damning claims about Schneider's behaviour, the series platforms several child stars, including Drake & Josh's Drake Bell. For the first time, Bell opens up about the sexual abuse he experienced at the hands of dialogue coach Brian Peck, who worked closely with Schneider until Peck's child abuse conviction in 2004.
Following the four-part series' US premiere, Schneider has responded to its claims with a statement and a 19-minute-long apology video. Ahead, everything to know about Schneider, his statement and all the allegations levelled.
Who is Dan Schneider?
Dan Schneider was originally an actor who appeared in shows such as Making the Grade, The Big Picture, Better Off Dead, and Head of the Class. He then moved behind the camera, getting his start in children's television working as a writer for Nickelodeon's All That in the 1990s. He went on to create some of the channel's biggest hits including The Amanda Show, Drake & Josh, iCarly, Zoey 101, Victorious and Sam & Cat. He subsequently launched the careers of Ariana Grande, Amanda Bynes, Miranda Cosgrove, Josh Peck and more; and became known as "Nickelodeon's Golden Boy".
In 2018, Nickelodeon announced that it was parting ways with the producer following an internal investigation (although he was paid out a reported US$7 million).
Schneider then went on hiatus for three years. In that time, clips of inappropriate innuendos he had written for his teen sitcoms began to go viral, with their original audiences now old enough to see through the "jokes". This was coupled with rumours of a toxic work environment and claims Schneider sexualised his young actresses.
Where is Dan Schneider now?
Dan Schneider has remained largely out of the spotlight since he and Nickelodeon parted ways in 2018. However, he reappeared in 2024 thanks to the claims made about him in Quiet On Set.
What has Dan Schneider said about Quiet On Set?
Initially, Schneider spoke out via his representatives, who provided a statement to Variety on March 18, denying that he sexualised the young stars of his shows.
Everything that happened on the shows Dan ran was carefully scrutinised by dozens of involved adults, and approved by the network," the statement read. "If there was an actual problem with the scenes that some people, now years later are 'sexualising,' they would be taken down, but they are not, they are aired constantly all over the world today still, enjoyed by both kids and parents.
On March 20, Schneider followed this up with a 19-minute-long apology video. Posted to YouTube, the video was conducted as an interview by actor BooG!e, who played T-Bo on iCarly. Schneider noted that he has seen Quiet On Set, calling the watching experience "difficult." He said: Facing my past behaviours, some of which are embarrassing and that I regret, I definitely owe some people a pretty strong apology.
The producer also addressed claims he asked staffers to massage him on-set-which he had previously admitted to and apologised for in the original Variety statement.
Schneider said: It was wrong that I ever put anybody in that position. It was the wrong thing to do. I'd never do it today. I'm embarrassed that I did it then. I apologise to anybody that I ever put in that situation. Additionally, I apologise to the people who were walking around video village, or wherever they happened, because there were lots of people there who witnessed it who also may have felt uncomfortable, so I owe them an apology as well.
Quiet on Set also touched on the myriad of inappropriate jokes included in Schneider's children's television shows, which appeared to sexualise their young, mostly female stars. In his video, Schneider said he would be fine with editing old episodes to remove those bits-a notable contrast from the aforementioned statement put out by his reps.
All these jokes that you're speaking of that the show covered over the past two nights-every one of those jokes was written for a kid audience, because kids thought they were funny, Schneider said. Now we have some adults looking back at them 20 years later through their lens, and they're looking at them and they're saying 'You know, I don't think that's appropriate for a kids show.' I have no problem with that. If that's how anyone feels, let's cut those jokes out of the show, just like I would have done 20 years ago.
I want my shows to be popular, he continued. The more people who like the shows, the happier I am. So if there's anything in a show that needs to be cut because it's upsetting somebody, let's cut it.
The disgraced showrunner finished the video by explaining what he would change, if he could go back and do it again.
The main thing that I would change is how I treat people, everyone. I definitely, at times, didn't give people the best of me. I didn't show enough patience. I could be cocky and definitely over-ambitious, and sometimes just straight-up rude and obnoxious," he said. "I'm so sorry that I ever was. When I watch [Quiet On Set], I can see the hurt in some people's eyes, and it made me feel awful and regretful and sorry. I wish I could go back to the earlier years of my career and bring the growth and experience that I have now, and just do a better job.
What claims are made in the Nickelodeon docuseries Quiet On Set?
Quiet On Set covers several damning allegations against Dan Schneider and other male Nickelodeon staffers, which range from gender discrimination to sexual abuse.
Gender discrimination and a hostile work environment
The first episode of the Nickelodeon docuseries Quiet On Set introduces Christy Stratton and Jenny Kilgen, two women who formerly worked as writers for Schneider's The Amanda Show.
Stratton and Kilgen say they were made to split a single salary. Both allege that while working under Schneider, he would show employees pornography, ask them for massages or verbally abuse staff. Kilgen claims Schneider threatened her when she reported the conditions to the writers guild.
Stratton was fired at the end of the first season and Kilgen quit four days into filming the second, when Schneider allegedly accused her of being a sex worker while she was attempting to pitch a sketch.
In 2000, with a letter of support from Stratton, Kilgen sued the show's production company for gender discrimination, a hostile work environment, and harassment. Nickelodeon conducted an internal investigation in response but Schneider would continue to work there for another 18 years.
Nickelodeon sets and paedophilia
Quiet On Set spotlights several instances of child sexual abuse on Nickelodeon sets. The first story comes from the mother of a child extra on The Amanda Show. She explains that Jason Handy, a production assistant, sent an explicit image of himself to her daughter, who was 11 years old at the time.
Handy was arrested in 2003 for "lewd acts with children." It was noted at the time that he met some of the children involved on set.
Who is the child star in Quiet On Set?
One of the most harrowing anecdotes from the series involves the sexual abuse of one of the network's biggest stars.
When the trailer for Quiet On Set first dropped, it was apparent that a former Nickelodeon child star would come forward with their story in the series. While the trailer did not reveal who exactly it was, given the channel's A-list alumni, the internet quickly began speculating.
The documentary introduces Brian Peck, a dialogue coach and former actor, who played Pickle Boy on All That. In 2004, Peck faced trial for eleven charges, two of which he pleaded no contest and was sentenced for-those being lewd act upon a child and oral copulation. Additional accounts that were ultimately dismissed included attempted sodomy of a person under 16 and sexual penetration by a foreign object. He served 16 months in prison and was made to register as a sex offender.
At the time, it was known that said abuse was committed against a Nickelodeon child star. However, the actor's identity was protected and he was referred to only as John Doe in court documents.
20 years on, Quiet On Set reveals that the actor was Drake & Josh star, Drake Bell. It is important to note that Brian Peck is not related to Bell's co-star, Josh Peck.
In the series, Bell explains that his relationship with Peck began when he would go to his home for tutoring. Over time, he began sleeping over and one night when he was 15 years old, he awoke to Peck assaulting him.
"The abuse was extensive and it got pretty brutal why don't you think of the worst stuff that someone can do to somebody as a sexual assault, and that will answer the question," Bell says in the documentary.
Following his prison term, by 2006, Peck was back working in children's television. He had jumped ship to Disney projects, working on the channel's The Suite Life of Zack & Cody.
Where to watch the Nickelodeon documentary Quiet On Set in Australia?
Quiet on Set: The Dark Side Of Kids TV has already premiered in the US, but will be available to watch in Australia on ID, Binge and Fetch from April 20.
If this article has brought up any difficult feelings, please contact 1800 RESPECT for support.
The post Dan Schneider responds to Nickelodeon expose 'Quiet on Set' appeared first on Harper's Bazaar Australia.
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