(Content Warning: Talk of domestic violence and sexual abuse of minors)
Nickelodeon: the network that made us laugh and taught us life lessons. Little did viewers know about the dark history that includes sexual, physical and mental abuse that was occurring behind the scenes of the shows that played such a huge role in our childhoods. These horrors come to the surface in the recently released documentary, “Quiet on Set.”
The documentary features film staff, writers, parents and actors detailing the abuse they experienced or witnessed on the Nickelodeon set. For the first episodes, we are informed about Dan Schneider, a perverted, wanna-be writer who makes disgustingly inappropriate sexual jokes for young children, and came to fame by sexualizing young actresses, one most notably being, Amanda Bynes. Schneider met Bynes early in her career and saw her talent, quickly casting her in his new show, “All That.” Schneider later made Bynes her own show: “The Amanda Bynes Show.”
During the show, the only two female writers (they get to be called writers since they didn’t make a living off sexualizing children) were forced to split a paycheck, which was Schneider’s idea. When the women found out this was illegal, they later sued, ending the show. These same writers came forward with how uncomfortable Schneider made them feel, and speculated that he had abused Bynes. One story they recalled is how Bynes was allowed at his house for “hot tub parties.” This grown man was having hot tub parties with a child, and you mean to tell me not a soul thought at the time, “hey, that’s kinda creepy.” Bynes has not come forward with any information, which I believe is because she signed an NDA (non-disclosure agreement) deal with lawyers to not speak about her experiences with the TV network, in exchange for hush money, which is the same deal “i-Carly” star, Jennette McCurdy had declined.
Schneider hasn’t been convicted of any child abuse charges yet, although there most certainly have been crew members who have. One pedo in particular is Jason Handy. Handy’s main job was to help kids with their lines. He was known as a nice, kid-friendly guy, yet when police searched his home they found 1,768 pictures of child pornography, including child actor, Brandie. As disgusting as Handy is, another thing just as revolting is how Brandie’s mother was aware of her abuse however, she chose not to say anything out of fear of Brandie losing her job. Brandie had a minimal role in “The Amanda Bynes Show,” so for her mom to worry about her 11-year-old daughter’s low-paying role over her relationship with a grown man baffles me, almost as much as the fact that the mother went on the documentary to speak about what happened to her daughter. For me, it just felt like her mother was trying to get more money off of her daughter’s traumatic experience. Brandie is now an adult and can come forward independently instead of her mother telling her story.
The one thing I didn’t expect was when “Drake & Josh” star, Drake Bell walked out and sat down in the interview chair. Bell went from being relatable for being a hip teen icon now, he’s in front of the camera and announcing he too is a victim, which is relevant to the watchers too since 1-in-3 people are sexually assaulted in their lifetime. The episode reveals back in 2003, four months after Handy’s arrest, Brian Peck was arrested on 11 counts of child sexual abuse related to an unnamed actor, who we later found out in the documentary was Bell. Peck has an obsession with child rapist and serial killer, John Wayne Gacy and even was his pen pal, which makes sense since he was convicted of some of the same crimes. Bell describes in the documentary how he grew close with Peck and how the relationship turned inappropriate when his mother allowed him to stay at Peck’s house. Bell did not go into the details but we see how distraught he was and how traumatic it was for his 15-year-old self. This makes me so sick to know what Bell suffered through especially since Peck only got 16 months in prison.
This is just the tip of the iceberg. More Nickelodeon stars have already come forward such as Alexa Nikolad, Matthew Underwood and Allie DiMeco. Abuse does not end with Nickelodeon stars. I have a feeling in the future we will be hearing many more stories just like these.
