‘Quiet on Set’: All the Reactions From Former Nickelodeon Child Stars
Since the release of Investigation Discovery’s documentary series “Quiet on Set: The Dark Side of Kids TV,” several other Nickelodeon actors have spoken out.
After former child stars like Drake Bell, Giovonnie Samuels and Bryan Hearne detailed their experiences on-camera, more have come forward recalling their own personal incidents of alleged abuse, while others have offered support to potential victims.
“I finished the ‘Quiet on Set’ documentary and took a few days to process it,” Bell’s costar Josh Peck (no relation to Brian Peck) said on social media. “I reached out to Drake privately, but want to give my support for the survivors who were brave enough to share their stories of emotional and physical abuse on Nickelodeon sets with the world. Children should be protected.”
So far, actors from shows like “Drake & Josh,” “All That,” “The Naked Brothers Band,” “The Haunted Hathaways,” “Game Shakers” and “Zoey 101” have all spoken out publicly.
Here’s a list of former child stars who have spoken out, so far:
Drake Bell
Following “Quiet on Set’s” release, Bell (“The Amanda Show,” “Drake & Josh”) participated in his first interview where he said he was disappointed by Nickelodeon’s response to the abuse.
“There’s a very well-tailored response saying, ‘Learning about his trauma,’ because they couldn’t say that they didn’t know about this or what had happened, or anything,” he said on the “The Sarah Fraser Show.” “So I think that was a really well-tailored response by probably some big attorney in Hollywood.”
He went on: “I find it pretty empty, their responses, because, I mean, they still show our shows, they still put our shows on. And I have to pay for my own therapy, I have to figure out what — I mean, if there was any truth behind them actually caring, there would be something more than quotes on a page by obviously a legal representative telling them exactly how to tailor a response.”
Alexa Nikolas
In a two-hour stream, “Zoey 101” star Alexa Nikolas laid into Dan Schneider following his one-on-one interview with BooG!e, who played T-Bo on “iCarly.”
“As if he just one day had a fit, is how he is acting. Like, ‘I’m sorry, it was just this one-time event that people were affected by it,’” she said. “I don’t even feel any remorse from him. He’s not even crying. I know everyone deals with their own emotions in their own way, but I don’t feel anything from you Dan. I don’t feel a thing.”
“Embarrassing for you, dude, stop it. There were two women splitting a salary. I’m gonna cut to the chase here,” Nikolas continued. “You don’t feel anything, Dan. You’re like every friggin’ privileged white male I’ve honestly ever met on set. You don’t even know what accountability is.”
Josh Peck
Bell has also opened up about how his “Drake & Josh” costar Peck reached out to him following the premiere of “Quiet on Set.”
“I just want to clear something up. I’ve noticed a lot of comments on some of Josh’s TikToks and some of his posts,” he said. “I just want to let you guys know that this is really … processing this and going through this is a really emotional time, and a lot of it is very, very difficult.”
Bell continued: “I just want you guys to know that he has reached out to me, and it’s been very sensitive … But he has reached out to talk with me and help me work through this and has been really, really great. So just wanted to let you guys know that and to take it a little easy on him.”
Devon Werkheiser
After Bell slammed the cast of “Ned’s Declassified School Survival Guide” for laughing about what was depicted in “Quiet on Set,” star Devon Werkheiser apologized.
“I felt like a piece of s–t,” Werkheiser said on his podcast with costars Lindsey Shaw and Daniel Curtis Lee, “Ned’s Declassified Podcast Survival Guide.” “Like, I know it looks like I’m laughing at this, and I f–king wasn’t. But I know what it looks like. And that Drake saw it. I just felt so f–king awful knowing Drake saw that.”
Allie DiMeco
Allie DiMeco, who starred as Rosalina on “The Naked Brothers Band” alongside Alex and Nat Wolff, detailed several scenes where she felt pressured to kiss a 30-year-old man when she was half his age.
“It honestly gives me PTSD. I’m watching this ‘Quiet on Set’ documentary. It’s talking about how integral and vital it is, when it’s a kid cast, to create an environment where kids feel comfortable to say ‘No’ or ‘I don’t feel comfortable with this,’” she said in a TikTok video. “Then I’m like, ‘Yeah, maybe they do express that though.’ It’s also more important to create an environment that listens to the kids and actually does not make them do things when they don’t want to do them.”
DiMeco continued: “They made me kiss this 30-plus-year-old man when I was like, what 14, 15? I told them many times I didn’t want to do it. My mom was very against it, and they made me feel like I was going to lose my job and be fired if I didn’t do it.”
Amber Frank
Amber Frank (aka Amber Montana), who starred in “The Haunted Hathaways,” also responded to “Quiet on Set,” saying she was “triggered” after seeing herself in the docuseries.
“One of the horrifying things that happened in my experience with Nickelodeon was when Nickelodeon sent computers over to production when we were starting filming the show and when they were turned on there was [CP] on them and nobody was held accountable,” she alleged in a social media post. “There was no investigation, never even found out where it came from or who was responsible for it.”
Frank continued, “It’s beyond heartbreaking to know that a company that was employing children failed miserably at protecting them. I am sending a lot of love to all of the victims involved, and I hope that we can create a very different environment moving forward.”
Madisyn Shipman
Meanwhile, former “Game Changers” actress Madisyn Shipman, who played Kenzie, has been publicly supportive of Schneider online.
“If any of you actually watched the ‘Quiet on Set’ documentary then you would hear from Drake Bell, himself, stating that Dan was the only person there for him after his traumatic experience. I am not in any way, shape or form discrediting anyone’s personal experience or their traumas that they experienced while on set — I’m solely sharing my experience,” she wrote on Instagram. “For those of you that are so ignorant to know — the creators and producers have no hand in payroll — as for the real pedophiles that were hired not only by Nickelodeon but by Disney as well — that is strictly executed and distributed through the Nickelodeon and Disney main production offices.”
“For producers that are looking to create new documentaries about the dangers of kids network television — focus on viable information like the fact that Brian Peck went to jail for child pedophila [sic] — then got out 16 months later just to go back to work in children’s television,” Shipman continued. “Why wasn’t that the sole focus. If Dan was guilty of anything other than some anger moments which everyone has episodes of at given times then don’t you think he would have be [sic] charged by now?!”
What Comes Next
In addition to his 19-minute response video sharing his side of the story, a spokesperson for Schneider told TheWrap: “Dan expected and asked a lot from his teams. They worked long hours and consistently made successful shows. In the challenges of production, Dan could get frustrated at times, and he understands why some employees found that intimidating and stressful.”
“In a career spanning 30-plus years, Dan worked with thousands of people, many of whom still tell him how much they enjoyed and appreciated working on his shows,” they continued. “Some people did not have a positive experience, and he is truly sorry for that. Dan knows he should have done better and feels awful about anyone who saw him at his worst, instead of his best.”
Nickelodeon did not respond to TheWrap’s request for comment.
A bonus fifth episode of “Quiet on Set” airs April 7 on Investigation Discovery before streaming on Max.
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