Dan Schneider accepts the lifetime achievement award at the 27th annual Kids' Choice Awards at the Galen Center in Los Angeles. Photo / AP
Dan Schneider accepts the lifetime achievement award at the 27th annual Kids' Choice Awards at the Galen Center in Los Angeles. Photo / AP
Warning: Mention of sexual assault
Producer Dan Schneider has broken his silence amid allegations he sexualised young child stars during his time at Nickelodeon.
Quiet on Set: The Dark Side of Kids TV, a new docuseries that sheds light on some of the shows that Schneider helped create, such as The Amanda Show, All That, iCarly, Victorious and Sam & Cat, highlights the apparent sexualisation of young actors such as Ariana Grande and Jamie Lynn Spears through a compilation of scenes, reports Variety.
Now, Schneider is coming forward to deny the allegations, adding that he never intentionally sexualised the shows’ characters.
Miranda Cosgrove, Jennette McCurdy, Nathan Kress, Jerry Trainor and Dan Schneider at the MTV Summer 2007 TCA Press Tour in Beverly Hills, California. Photo / Getty Images
A representative for Schneider told Variety: “Everything that happened on the shows Dan ran was carefully scrutinised by dozens of involved adults, and approved by the network. 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.
“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.
Actor Drake Bell (left) and creator of Drake and Josh Dan Schneider in 2008. Photo / Getty Images
“In addition, every day on every set, there were always parents and caregivers and their friends watching filming and rehearsals. Had there been any scenes or outfits that were inappropriate in any way, they would have been flagged and blocked by this multilayered scrutiny,” the statement added. “Unfortunately, some adults project their adult minds on to kids’ shows, drawing false conclusions about them.”
The two-part documentary features interviews from both cast and crew who previously worked with the Nickelodeon screenwriter in the late 90s and early 2000s. On top of several allegations of sexism, racism and inappropriate behaviour in the workplace, the show also includes various crew members claiming he continuously asked them for massages while on set.
“Dan deeply regrets asking anyone for neck massages,” Schneider’s team responded to the allegations. “Though they happened in public settings, he knows this was highly inappropriate and would never happen again.”
