LOS ANGELES (AP) — Former Nickelodeon producer and writer Dan Schneider sued the makers of “Quiet on Set: The Dark Side of Kids TV” on Wednesday, alleging the makers of the documentary series wrongly implied that he sexually abused the child actors he worked with.
Schneider filed the defamation suit against Warner Bros.
Discovery and other companies behind the series in Los Angeles Superior Court.
It uses cast and crew interviews to describe the shows’ sexualization of young teens and a toxic and abusive work environment that many said Schneider was responsible for.
It also includes descriptions of sexual abuse of child actors, including “The Amanda Show” and “Drake & Josh” star Drake Bell, by crew members who were later convicted for it.
“‘Quiet on Set’s’ portrayal of Schneider is a hit job,” the suit says.
Discovery — the parent company of ID and Max — and the show’s production companies, Sony Pictures Television and Maxine Productions.
The Associated Press does not typically name people who say they have been sexually abused unless they come forward publicly, as Bell has.
LOS ANGELES (AP) — Former Nickelodeon writer and producer Dan Schneider filed a lawsuit against the producers of “Quiet on Set: The Dark Side of Kids TV” on Wednesday, claiming the program’s creators falsely suggested he had sexually assaulted the young actors he had worked with.
Schneider sued Warner Bros. for defamation. in Los Angeles Superior Court, along with other companies that produced the series.
Having worked on sketch shows like “All That,” “The Amanda Show,” and “Kenan and Kel,” as well as serving as executive producer on series like “Zoey 101,” “iCarly,” and “Victorious,” Schneider, a former teenage actor, was a major contributor to Nickelodeon’s domination of kid culture in the 1990s and 2000s. “.
In addition, he plays a pivotal role in the true crime television series “Quiet on Set,” which debuted in March on ID and is currently available for streaming on Max. The show has garnered a lot of attention from fans and former Nickelodeon cast members. The show’s sexualization of young teenagers and the toxic and abusive work environment that many believed Schneider was responsible for are described through cast and crew interviews. It also details how crew members who were later found guilty of abusing child actors sexually, including Drake Bell of “Drake & Josh” and the star of “The Amanda Show.”.
However, Schneider, who left Nickelodeon in 2018, claimed in the lawsuit that the show’s episodes and the “Quiet on Set” trailer purposefully combined and contrasted his image and any mention of the criminal sexual abusers to give the impression that he was one of them.
The lawsuit claims that Quiet on Set did a fantastic job portraying Schneider. The fact that Schneider denied knowledge of the abuse, refuted the allegations after they were proven, and—most importantly—was not a child sexual abuser himself, even though it is undeniable that two legitimate child sexual abusers worked on Nickelodeon shows. “.
Warner Bros. is named as a defendant in the suit. The production companies behind the show, Sony Pictures Television and Maxine Productions, as well as Discovery, the parent company of ID and Max.
Representatives from the three companies did not immediately respond to emails asking for comments.
The four-part series paints Schneider as an irate and emotionally abusive boss and implies that his shows frequently placed young women in comedic situations with explicit sexual overtones.
It contains explicit accusations of gender discrimination and sexual harassment made by female writers who worked for him on “All That.”. They said that while they were in the writers’ room, he displayed porn on his computer and made requests for massages, joking that these would result in the women’s sketches appearing on the show. Schneider has refuted these claims.
It also features interviews with Bell, who at the age of fifteen, describes being sexually abused by a dialogue coach in a manner that he describes as “extensive” and “brutal,” as well as with the mother of a different girl who was molested by a crew member.
Usually, the Associated Press doesn’t identify victims of sexual abuse unless they come forward in public, as Bell has.
Schneider issued a broad apology for his “past behaviors, some of which are embarrassing and that I regret” in a YouTube video following the show’s initial release. “.
However, the lawsuit claims that by displaying pictures of him, some of which include him wrapping his arm around young actors, over discussions of an atmosphere that was dangerous for them, the show and particularly its trailer unfairly accuse him of child sexual abuse.
For “the destruction of Schneider’s reputation and legacy” through “false statements and implications,” the lawsuit demands damages that will be decided at trial. “.
While it cannot “corroborate or negate” claims made decades ago, Nickelodeon, which is not party to the lawsuit, stated in a statement on the show that it looks into all formal complaints and has strict policies for working with minors.
A network representative stated in a statement, “Our top priorities are the health and best interests of all children, not just our staff, actors, and crew. We have implemented many measures over the years to help make sure we are meeting both the expectations of our audience and our own high standards. “.
