8 months ago
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Dan Schneider is speaking out. The 58-year-old TV show creator and producer, screenwriter and actor is denying allegations of a toxic workplace environment on the Nickelodeon series he created and ran, including The Amanda Show and All That. The allegations include “sexualizing” child actors on those shows. Keep reading to find out more… “Everything that happened on the shows Dan ran was carefully scrutinized by dozens of involved adults, and approved by the network,” a spokesperson for the producer said in a statement obtained by 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,” the statement continues. “In addition, every day on every set, there were always parents and caregivers and their friends watching filming and rehearsals.” The statement comes after the first two episodes of Investigation Discovery’s docuseries Quiet on the Set: The Dark Side of Kids TV, which addresses allegations of abuse, sexism, racism and inappropriate behavior involving underage stars and crewmembers on Nickelodeon series overseen by Dan. Other allegations from the first night of the series include that he allegedly tolerated toxic workplace conditions, and allegedly tormented and humiliated the cast and crew on his TV sets. In a separate statement, former Nickelodeon president of content Russell Hicks claimed Dan always looked to protect child actors on his set, even when some parents allegedly did not. “Dan cared about the kids on his shows even when sometimes their own families unfortunately did not,” he said to THR, adding that Dan never acted on his own, and had constant oversight from the network. “What people seem to be forgetting is the fact that the network has a talent management department that is keeping tabs on everything that is happening and going to every event these kids go to,” he added. “There is a standards and practices group that reads every script and programming executives looking at every episode. Add to that every day on every set, were the parents and caregivers and their friends watching every single frame of footage and listening to every joke. Every single thing that Dan ever did on any of his shows was carefully scrutinized and approved by executives at Nickelodeon,” he added. One Nickelodeon star in the new I-D TV series revealed the details of being sexually abused by a dialogue coach.
