The new ID docuseries revealed numerous troubling details about the kids TV internet during Dan Schneider’s tenure.
Schneider denied all allegations of misconduct.
They worked long hours and consistently made successful shows.
Dan Schneider.Jeff Kravitz/FilmMagic
The third and fourth episodes also have on-camera appearances fromDrake BellandZoey 101actress Alexa Nikolas.
Below are the major allegations from the complete seriesQuiet on Set: The Dark Side of Kids TV.
MJs perspective changed when her 11-year-old daughter had a mortified reaction to an email from Handy.
Photo Illustration of the cast of “All That”, Drake Bell, Dan Schneider, Brian Peck, and Amanda Bynes.Photos: “All That” cast: Tollin/Robbins Prod./Everett; Bell: Michael Tran/Getty; Schneider: Jeff Kravitz/FilmMagic; Peck: Albert L. Ortega/Getty Images; Bynes: Michael Yarish/Nickelodeon Network/Everett - Photo Illustration: Chuck Kerr
I no longer trusted anybody with children in this industry, MJ said.
There was never any apology to Brandi herself for what happened.
Everything got swept under the rug.
Amanda Bynes on ‘The Amanda Show’.Nickelodeon Network / Courtesy Everett Collection
Kilgen and Stratton described patterns of allegedly distressing behavior from Dan Schneider in the workplace.
They claim early meetings with Schneider also suggested that gender-related issues might persist.
He said women cant write funny, Kilgen said.
Dan Schneider.Jeff Kravitz/FilmMagic
And that was my first indication of trouble.
That maybe this guy didnt really value women in the writers room.
And he said oh, good, because I cant stand girls that are uptight about things like that.
Cast members from ‘All That’.Gregg DeGuire/WireImage
Dan got worse and worse as the season got on, Kilgen said.
Because I was a first-time writer, I didnt know what was acceptable and not acceptable.
And so Christy and I both did things that were uncomfortable.
Brian Peck.Albert L. Ortega/Getty Images
And he would always present it like a joke, and he would be laughing while he said it.
But you always felt like disagreeing with Dan or standing up for yourself could result in you getting fired.
A spokesperson for Schneider told EW, Dan deeply regrets asking anyone for neck massages.
Dan Schneider.Lawrence K. Ho/Los Angeles Times via Getty
Though they happened in public configs, he knows this was highly inappropriate and would never happen again.
The most explicit incident of alleged sexual harassment came later.
And Dan just said, You know whatd be funny?
Drake Bell.Gary Livingston/Getty
And everyones kind of laughing too, cause hes making it this big joke.
She couldnt get out of it, hes begging her.
So she just leaned over the table and did what he asked her to do.
James Marsden and Alan Thicke.Jon Kopaloff/Getty;Phillip Chin/WireImage
Stratton did not want to go into detail when asked about the incident herself.
“Id rather not.
I dont wanna talk about that,” she said.
Drake Bell.Michael Tran/Getty
“Thinking about it now, yeah, its like, oh boy.
I just think about that poor girl and what she had to go through.
And I would not do that today, but I did it then.”
Alexa Nikolas.getty
Additionally, Stratton claimed the two women were asked to split a salary when they were initially hired.
She left distraught, quit the job, and sued Schneider.
However, unfortunately writers' rooms were often off-color places, especially more than 20 years ago.
Giovonnie Samuels.Araya Doheny/WireImage
The show is full of these weird, uncomfortable sketches, saidAll Thatcast member Kyle Sullivan.
I think Dan got a kick out of walking a line with that.
One particularly distressing incident came whenAll Thats Bryan Christopher Hearne was asked to play a rapper.
Dan Schneider.Eric Vitale/Getty
There was a sketch where I played the youngest rapper of all time, Lil Fetus, Hearne said.
They were fitting me for the Lil Fetus role.
Someone said, The skin tone should be charcoal.
Dan Schneider.Jeff Kravitz/FilmMagic
I started to get teary eyed.
Hearnes mother Tracey Brown also shared negative memories of the show.
They set up the scene like [Bryan] was selling drugs, she recalled.
And I was like, Oh, the Black kid gets to be the crack dealer?
Behind him was a young lady massaging him.
Why were you having adult jokes?
Are you showing the kids that Hollywood is a casting couch?
Leon Frierson also reported feeling uncomfortable with certain sketches.
Theres a new character for me onAll Thatnamed Nose Boy, he recalled.
Naturally, Im in a superhero costume, which is just tights and underwear.
You cant help but notice that it looks like penis and testicles on my shoulders.
Perhaps the most unpleasant moments on set, though, came on theFear Factor-inspired seriesOn-Air Dares.
I did the peanut butter one, so I had to be submerged in peanut butter, Hearne said.
That was weird, but then the dogs come.
Im laying on the ground and the dogs, they gotta lick peanut butter off my body.
That sounds like some kinda awkward fantasy from some freaky dude.
It was really uncomfortable.
I didnt like that.
Those were particularly traumatic, and they were sort of designed to be, Sullivan confirmed.
When you do that, its actually like an inappropriate thing to do.
If theres anything on set that I wish I couldve yelled Stop, lets not do this.
Im out, its theOn-Air Dares.
Dan cared about the kids on his shows even when sometimes their own families unfortunately did not.
Before that, he was generally well-regarded on set, but one of his prized possessions raised some eyebrows.
Everyone went to Brians house for a barbecue, and his house was a little off, Sullivan remembered.
It was of a birthday clown holding balloons.
Best wishes, your friend John Wayne Gacy.
It was a self-portrait of serial killer John Wayne Gacy.
My instinct was like, Everyone has to see this.
And Brian actually developed a pen pal relationship with John.
He kept this pile of letters and photos from John Wayne Gacy in his nightstand next to his bed.
And pulls them out, and starts showing them to me.
The documentary did not provide further confirmation ofPeck and Gacys relationship.
EW has not been able to reach Peck for comment.
Dan would come down and yell and scream.
There was many times where I had to go Okay.
Youre creating an atmosphere on this set that is not healthy, saidAmanda Showdirector Virgil Fabian.
He was just an egomaniac.
I dont know how you avoid that.
Dans presence in a room could change the vibe of the room, Hearne confirmed.
Everybody would kinda just be like Okay.
Dan and Amanda had a close relationship, and I didnt think anything different than that.
Though they happened in public configs, he knows this was highly inappropriate and would never happen again.
And I had no idea how to get out of the situation.
Ill just sit here and wait.
I had no car, I didnt drive.
I was 15 at this time.
Bell said the abuse persisted until he began spending more time at a girlfriends house.
Later, Bell eventually detailed the abuse to his own mother, who called the police.
The investigation was pretty brutal, he said.
Why did this happen?
which led Peck to break into a full-on confession that led to his arrest.
He was also ordered to register as a sex offender.
Additionally, many of these entertainers also met Peck when they were teenagers.
Right afterDrake & Josh, I was signed, and then I released my second album.
I went through this bankruptcy and lost my house.
I mean, it was absolutely devastating.
There was definitely a slow decline in my mental health and sobriety, Bell continued.
And I started to spin out of control.
If I had continued down that path, that could very likely be the end of my story.
Bell said that his trajectory changed once he sought help.
Bell was alsoaccused of physical and verbal abuseby an ex-girlfriend in 2020.
He denied those allegations at the time, but there is no explicit mention of them in the documentary.
Being a child star hurt me mentally and somewhat physically, Frierson said.
Being normal a little bit.
But not everybody gets to be normal afterwards.
Because you dont know that that looks like.
Being let go fromThe Amanda Showreally broke my confidence, big time, Bolleau stated.
That was a very young lesson to learn in my career, is that everyone is replaceable.
And it sent me down a really dark path.
Araya Doheny/WireImage
Samuels expressed similar sentiments.
I struggled with self-esteem issues, I struggled with beauty standards cuz I didnt feel accepted, she said.
Sullivan said that his time at Nickelodeon gave him trust issues.
Theres a dark underbelly to child stardom, Hearne said.
Children are just a dollar sign when they show up on set.
Nobodys taking anyones mental health serious, and thats completely unfortunate.
Towards the end of season 2 ofZoey 101, I wasnt happy, Nikolas explained.
I actually could not show up to set anymore without crying.
A lot of my self-worth was deeply damaged from that set experience.
Me as a person was altered for life.
And this is not right, something has to be done.
And that they were looking into it.
Schneider ultimately parted ways with Nickelodeonin March 2018, though he denied that it was due to the investigation.
However, he stated that today, I would absolutely do some things differently.
Ive learned a lot over the years about how to be a better boss.
All stories, dialogue, costumes, and makeup were fully approved by connection executives on two coasts.
All episodes ofQuiet on Set: The Dark Side of Kids TVare available on ID now.
