A tearful Dan Schneider apologized for his behavior while a producer of Nickelodeon programs years ago.
He made his statements to Bobbie K. “BooG!e” Bowman, who played T-Bo on Nickelodeon’s “iCarly,” in the wake of the two-night series “Quiet on Set: The Dark Side of Kids TV,” which aired this week on Investigation Discovery.
‘Quiet on Set: The Dark Side of Kids TV’ offers a disturbing look behind some of the most iconic children’s shows of the late 1990s and early 2000s.
Click below to read more @people and watch #QuietOnSet on ID or stream on @StreamOnMax.https://t.co/K0HVrM7o6B pic.twitter.com/cNQ3PKIFH4
— Investigation Discovery (@DiscoveryID) March 22, 2024
Schneider told Bowman of his embarrassment in watching the Investigation Discovery program, which portrayed abuse and a toxic work environment surrounding Schneider as expressed by former child stars and other actors.
“Facing my past behaviors — some of which are embarrassing and that I regret — and I definitely owe some people a pretty strong apology,” he said.
Schneider, 58, left Nickelodeon in 2018. Besides “iCarly,” he produced other hits on the network including “All That,” “The Amanda Show” and “Drake and Josh.”
He said his bad on-set behavior stemmed from allowing pressure to get to him, which he said “a good boss” should never do.
“I would snap at people sometimes,” Schneider said. “I would be snarky when I could have given them a nicer answer.
Do you believe the allegations?
“I would not give people the time that they needed. I would be in too big of a hurry to get on to the next thing I had to do.
“And watching that [Investigation Discovery] show, it made me — there were so many times I wanted to pick up a phone and call some of those people and say, ‘I’m so sorry and let’s talk about it and I wish you’d had a better time and I wish I could have shown you a better experience.’”
Bowman spoke with Schneider about several incidents during the producer’s time at Nickelodeon, including at-work massages, inappropriate joking among writers and content some considered inappropriate for children.
“It was wrong that I ever put anybody in that position,” he said of the massages. “I apologize to anybody that I ever put in that situation.
“There were lots of people there who witnessed it who also may have felt uncomfortable. So I owe them an apology as well.”
About the joking, Schneider said, “Most TV writers — comedy writers — have been in writers’ rooms and they are aware a lot of times there are inappropriate jokes made and inappropriate topics come up.
“But the fact that I participated in that — especially when I was leading the room — it embarrasses me. I shouldn’t have done it.”
Pressed by Bowman regarding whether his shows had jokes inappropriate for children, Schneider responded that all the jokes in the program were directed at children only because they were funny and for no other reason.
“Now, we have some adults looking back at them 20 years later through their lens, and they’re looking at them and they’re saying, ‘I don’t think that’s appropriate for a kids show,’” he said.
THR EXCLUSIVE – Former Nickelodeon producer Dan Schneider is addressing specific allegations and stories of abuse from #QuietOnSet: “I definitely owe some people a pretty strong apology” pic.twitter.com/ZG8bTo2RwE
— The Hollywood Reporter (@THR) March 19, 2024
Schneider said he had no problem with contemporary adults disapproving of his old programs and said jokes can be cut out of reruns.
He added that he would have agreed 20 years ago to cut questionable jokes if anyone — including layers of executives above him — had voiced objections then.
Schneider became tearful while recounting a court appearance of his close Nickelodeon associate, dialogue coach Brian Peck, who entered a plead of no contest and was sent to prison for sexual acts with a minor, later revealed to be Drake Bell of the “Drake and Josh” program.
He said he “was more devastated by that than anything that ever happened” in his career.
The producer told of 50 people supporting Peck at the court appearance — “a lot of them pretty famous” — of whom 41 had written positive character references for Peck despite his no-contest plea.
The action was devastating to Bell, Schneider said, adding, “That’s baffling that adults would do that.”
He wept as he told of Bell’s mother asking him to help her write a letter supporting her abused son.
“She said, ‘Dan, I’m not good with words like you are,’” Schneider said, his voice shaking. “‘And would you help me with my speech to the judge?’”
“‘Yes, of course,’” he recalled telling her. “And I did.”
Schneider said he was puzzled that Peck, upon being released from prison, was hired for a Disney Channel show.
According to The Hollywood Reporter, Peck had a voice role on “The Suite Life of Zack & Cody” but had no contact with minors.
Many on social media indicated they were unhappy with the interview and the choice of interviewer.
This was not an interviewer? This sounds like a friend asking his friends questions. THR should be ashamed.
— Яory Christie (@RoryChristie) March 19, 2024
this is pathetic. why did @THR clear this type of interview for a known predator in the industry, and not even have a legitimate journalist… he’s being interview by a man he previously employed… shame to Dan Schneider and @THR pic.twitter.com/fnXSSS5DW0
— luca (@LucaGuadagnegro) March 19, 2024
Please don’t platform this man, especially now when it’s about the victims, this made me physically ill, I turned it off.
— Diane Gaeta (@MsDiGaeta) March 19, 2024
This guy sounds like his buddy, zero pushback and it sounds like he gave him questions to review in advance. Goober.
— Kyle J. Beauregard (@kylejbeauregard) March 19, 2024
“Quiet on Set” is now streaming on Max.
