Former Nickelodeon Producer Dan Schneider APOLOGIZES After 'Quiet on Set' Docuse

DHLTV

Transcript

00:00 I apologize to anybody that I ever put in that situation.

00:03 Former Nickelodeon producer Dan Schneider issues a video apology following the release

00:08 of Quiet on Set, the dark side of kids TV.

00:11 Schneider, who parted ways with the network in 2018, is speaking out in response to the

00:16 Investigation Discovery series, which recently aired.

00:20 During a video conversation with iCarly actor Bobby K. Bowman, also known as Boogie, posted

00:26 on Schneider's official YouTube account, the ex-showrunner says, "Watching over the past

00:31 two nights was very difficult, me facing my past behaviors, some of which are embarrassing

00:37 and that I regret, and I definitely owe some people a pretty strong apology."

00:43 Schneider produced some of Nickelodeon's most successful shows, including All That, The

00:47 Amanda Show, Drake & Josh, and iCarly.

00:51 One element of the special focused on his asking crew members to massage Schneider on

00:55 set.

00:56 And Dan responds in the video with, "It was wrong that I ever put anybody in that position.

01:00 It was the wrong thing to do.

01:01 I'd never do it today.

01:03 I'm embarrassed that I did it then.

01:05 I apologize to anybody that I ever put in that situation.

01:08 And even additionally, I apologize to the people who were walking around Video Village

01:13 or wherever they happened, because there were lots of people there who witnessed it who

01:17 also may have felt uncomfortable.

01:19 So I owe them an apology as well."

01:20 Schneider also adds that any questionable content or jokes in the shows should be cut

01:25 from vaulted and rerun episodes.

01:27 "Every one of those jokes was written for a kid audience because kids thought they were

01:33 funny and only funny.

01:37 Now we have some adults looking back at them 20 years later through their lens and they're

01:44 looking at them and they're saying, 'Oh, yeah, I don't think that's appropriate for a kid

01:47 show.'

01:48 And I have no problem with that.

01:50 If that's how anyone feels, let's cut those jokes out of the show."

01:55 He also says that multiple network executives approved the content and look of his shows

02:00 and that dozens of adults were on set and never raised concerns.

02:04 "We had executives in LA.

02:07 We had executives in New York."

02:09 "So two coasts."

02:10 "Two coasts of approval, yes.

02:12 And by the way, approval at every stage, really.

02:14 I'm talking about wardrobe, I'm talking about makeup, sound, sets, dialogue, jokes, everything.

02:20 And we're also shooting it in front of all sorts of adults and caregivers and the set

02:26 teacher and the families.

02:29 Everybody's watching it.

02:30 And if anybody had said anything, 'Hey, we don't like that, that's not appropriate,'

02:34 it would have been cut out."

02:35 E! News has reached out to Nickelodeon for comment on Dan's interview and the Quiet on

02:39 Set docuseries and has not yet heard back.

02:42 Investigation Discovery dropped the trailer for its four-part docuseries back in February.

02:48 Per a press release, the series alleged there was, quote, "an insidious environment rife

02:52 with allegations of abuse, sexism, racism, and inappropriate dynamics with its underage

02:57 stars and crew," and specifically focuses on allegations of a toxic work environment

03:02 involving Dan Schneider.

03:04 In the series, former cast and crew members shared their experiences working for the network

03:08 and Schneider.

03:09 "In the early 90s, Nickelodeon was kid everything.

03:15 And you better hope that your house had cable."

03:17 "Wasn't there to educate you.

03:19 We were there to have fun, to get slogged, to be entertained."

03:25 And this is when Dan Schneider arrives.

03:28 Nickelodeon's golden boy.

03:29 He created these shows that were hugely successful for them.

03:32 "No one had ever really done sketch comedy starring kids for kids."

03:36 "He launched the careers of child actors who became major stars."

03:41 "For 20 years, he shaped children's entertainment and culture."

03:45 "Thank you for being here."

03:48 "But that marked one of the darkest chapters."

03:56 Working for Dan was like being in an abusive relationship.

04:00 "Dan's treatment of people on your shows was an open secret."

04:04 "So my lawyer filed complaints, gender discrimination, hostile work environment, harassment, and

04:10 it was so devastating."

04:12 "How safe can any kids be in that environment?"

04:15 "There would be even bigger problems down the line with actual pedophiles on set."

04:21 "These are three predators who worked at Nickelodeon, all in a short amount of time."

04:27 "Hey, guys, what are you up to?"

04:29 "It was a toxic environment."

04:32 "It made me trust people less."

04:34 "We were there for so many hours.

04:37 You get comfortable with people until you're not."

04:40 "I had no idea what I was saving my son from.

04:44 It's a house of horrors."

04:46 "They find this enormous trove of child pornography."

04:50 "The officer said we found Ziploc bags, each one with a girl's name on it."

04:56 "11 charges of child sexual abuse related to a child actor."

05:02 "It made me wonder who was being hurt."

05:07 "I've been waiting 17 years for today."

05:11 "It wasn't dealing with anybody on the shows or anything, right?"

05:17 "It was a child actor."

05:19 "On one of our shows?"

05:21 "Yes."

05:22 In a 2021 interview with the New York Times, Schneider said he never acted inappropriately

05:28 with people he worked with, stating, "I couldn't and I wouldn't have the long-term friendships

05:33 and continued loyalty from so many reputable people if I mistreated my actors of any age,

05:39 especially minors."

05:40 Schneider also told the newspaper that if people considered him "difficult," this was

05:45 because of what he called his "high standards."

05:47 As he put it, "I'm very willing to defend creative things that I believe in."

05:51 "I'm willing to defend creative things that I believe in."

05:57 (upbeat music)

06:00 (upbeat music)

Category

Transcript

Recommended