Nickelodeon showrunner Dan Schneider apologises after claims of abuse and inappropriate behaviour
Dan Schneider has apologised for inappropriate behaviour on the sets of Nickelodeon shows.
The former producer, who was behind shows such as Drake and Josh, iCarly, Victorious and The Amanda Show, left Nickelodeon in 2018.
Over the weekend, several actors, staff and former child stars alleged abuse, inappropriate behaviour and a toxic work environment while working on Schneider’s shows in Quiet on Set: The Dark Side of Kids TV.
In a 20-minute video posted on YouTube on Tuesday, he called the docuseries “difficult” and “embarrassing” to watch.
“Facing my past behaviours – some of which are embarrassing and that I regret – and I definitely owe some people a pretty strong apology,” Schneider said.
In Quiet on Set, former writer for The Amanda Show Jenny Kilgen claimed Schneider would make inappropriate and sexual remarks on set and said he had asked her for a massage.
He said in his video it was “wrong” of him to do so, and added: “I apologize to anybody that I ever put in that situation, and even additionally, I apologize to the people who were walking around video village or wherever they happened, because there were lots of people there who witnessed it who also may have felt uncomfortable.”
Schneider left Nickelodeon in 2018. Pic: Reuters
Schneider also said that any questionable content or jokes in the shows he produced should be cut, adding: “Every one of those jokes was written for a kid audience because kids thought they were funny.
“Now we have some adults looking back at them 20 years later through their lens. I have no problem with that. Let’s cut those jokes out of the show.”
Schneider also reiterated there were “many, many levels of scrutiny” on his programmes, that multiple network executives approved the content and look of his shows, and dozens of adults were on set and never raised concerns.
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Drake and Josh star Drake Bell also alleged on Quiet on Set that he was sexually abused by Brian Peck, a former dialogue coach at Nickelodeon.
A representative for Peck did not respond to a request for comment from Sky News’ partner outlet NBC News on Bell’s allegations in the docuseries.
Peck pleaded no contest to and was convicted of lewd or lascivious acts with a 14- or 15-year-old child and oral copulation with a minor under 16, according to a case summary from Los Angeles County Superior Court.
Peck was sentenced to 16 months in prison. Bell said in Quiet on Set that Schenider was supportive of him.
When asked about Bells’s allegations of abuse, Schneider became emotional and said he did not hire Peck. He also called it the “darkest part of his career”.
Schneider called Drake Bell’s allegations of abuse from Brian Peck the “darkest part of his career”. Pic: Rex
In June 2021, Bell entered a guilty plea during a case involving attempted child endangerment. The charges related to an online incident involving a 15-year-old fan in 2017.
He was sentenced to two years of probation and 200 hours of community service.
A Nickelodeon spokesperson previously said in response to Quiet on Set: “Though we cannot corroborate or negate allegations of behaviours from productions decades ago, Nickelodeon as a matter of policy investigates all formal complaints as part of our commitment to fostering a safe and professional workplace environment free of harassment or other kinds of inappropriate conduct.
“Our highest priorities are the well-being and best interests not just of our employees, casts and crew, but of all children, and we have adopted numerous safeguards over the years to help ensure we are living up to our own high standards and the expectations of our audience.”
The New York Times reported in 2021 Nickelodeon cut ties with Schneider after an internal investigation found evidence of verbal abuse to colleagues. The investigation did not find evidence of sexual misconduct.
After Schneider’s video response, a spokesperson addressed the investigation and said “all that was found is that he was a challenging, tough and demanding person to work for and with, nothing else”.
Sky News has asked Dan Schneider’s representatives and Nickelodeon for comment.
It’s 5.30am, but the car park outside a laundrette in south central Los Angeles is already bustling.
A woman is setting up a stand selling tacos on the pavement and the sun is beginning to rise behind the palm trees.
A group of seven women and two men are gathered in a circle, most wearing khaki green t-shirts.
The leader, a man named Francisco “Chavo” Romero, begins by asking how everyone is feeling. “Angry,” a few of them respond. “Proud of the community for pushing back,” says another.
Ron, a high school history teacher, issues a rallying cry. “This is like Vietnam,” he says. “We’re taking losses, but in the end we’re going to win. It’s a war.”
Francisco ‘Chavo’ Romero leads a volunteer group, attempting to warn people ahead of ICE raids
This is what the resistance against Donald Trump’s immigration policy looks like here. In the past month, immigration and customs enforcement agents – known as ICE – have intensified their raids on homes and workplaces across Los Angeles.
Since the beginning of June, nearly 2,800 undocumented immigrants have been arrested in the city, according to the Department of Homeland Security. The previous monthly high was just over 850 arrests in May this year.
Police use tear gas against protesters, angry at a recent immigration raid at a farm in Camarillo, California. Pic: AP
Videos have circulated online of people being tackled to the ground in the car park of DIY shops, in car washes and outside homes. The videos have prompted outrage, protests and a fightback.
“Chavo” and Ron belong to a group of organised volunteers called Union del Barrio. Every morning, a group of them meet, mostly in areas which have high immigrant populations.
The day I meet them, they’re in an area of LA which is heavily Latino. Armed with walkie talkies to communicate with each other, megaphones to warn the community and leaflets to raise awareness they set out in cars in different directions.
A volunteer from Union del Barrio shows Sky’s Martha Kelner how they try to stay one step ahead of ICE agents
They’re looking for cars used by ICE agents to monitor “targets”.
“That vehicle looks a little suspicious,” says Ron, pointing out a white SUV with blacked-out windows, “but there’s nobody in it”.
An elderly Latino man is standing on a street corner, cutting fruit to sell at his stall. “He’s the exact target that they’re looking for,” Ron says. “That’s what they’re doing now. The low-hanging fruit, the easy victim. And so that is proving to be more successful for their quotas.”
This man, selling fruit on a street corner in LA, is a potential target of immigration agents
In the end, it turns out to be a quiet morning in this part of LA, no brewing immigration operations. But elsewhere in the city, dawn raids are happening.
ICE agents are under pressure from the White House to boost their deportation numbers in line with Donald Trump’s campaign promise to crack down on illegal immigration.
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In June, tear gas and rubber bullets were fired at protestors demonstrating against immigration raids
Maria’s husband Javier was one of those arrested in LA. He came to the United States from Mexico when he was 19 and is now 58.
The couple have three grown-up children and two grandchildren. But Javier’s work permit expired two years ago, according to Maria and so he was living here illegally.
Maria’s husband Javier was arrested after his work permit expired
She shows me a video taken last month when Javier was at work at a car wash in Pomona, an area of LA. He is being handcuffed and arrested by armed and masked ICE agents, forced into a car. He is now being held at a detention centre two hours away.
“I know they’re doing their job,” she says, “but it’s like, ‘you don’t have to do it like that.’ Getting them and, you know, forcing people and pushing them down on the ground. They’re not animals.”
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Maria wipes away tears as she explains the impact of his absence for the past four weeks. “It’s been so hard without him,” she says. “You feel alone when you get used to somebody and he’s not there any more. We’ve never been apart for as long as this.”
The family have a lawyer and is appealing for him to remain in the US, but Maria fears he will be sent back to Mexico or even a third country.
Maria fears her husband, who has lived in the US for nearly 40 years, will be sent back to Mexico
“I don’t know what to say to my grandkids because the oldest one, who is five was very attached to his papas, as he calls him. And he’s asking me, ‘When is papa coming home?’ and I don’t know what to say. He’s not a criminal.”
The fear in immigrant communities can be measured by the empty restaurant booths and streets that are far quieter than usual.
People in LA are being asked to report sightings of ICE officials so others can be warned
I meet Soledad at the Mexican restaurant she owns in Hollywood. When I arrive, she’s watching the local news on the TV as yet another raid unfolds at a nearby farm.
She’s shaking her head as ICE agents face off with protesters and military helicopters hover overhead. “I am scared. I am very scared,” she says.
All of her eight employees are undocumented, and four of them are too scared to come into work, she says, in case they get arrested. The process to get papers, she says, is too long and too expensive.
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Soledad, who owns a Mexican restaurant, plans to hide her illegal workers if immigration officials arrive
“They call me and tell me they are too afraid to come in because immigration is around,” she says.
“I have to work double shifts to be able to make up for their hours, and yes, I am very desperate, and sometimes I cry… We have no sales, and no money to pay their wages.”
There is just one woman eating fajitas at a booth, where there would usually be a lunchtime rush. People are chilled by the raids.
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Soledad says she plans to hide her illegal workers if immigration officials arrive.
“I’ve told them, get inside the fridge, hide behind the stove, climb up where we have a space to store boxes, do not run because they will hunt you down.”
The White House says they’re protecting the country from criminals. ICE agents have been shot at while carrying out operations, their work becoming more dangerous by the day.
The tension here is ratcheting up. Deportation numbers are rising too. But the order from Donald Trump is to arrest even more people living here illegally.
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