Former Nickelodeon cast members question Dan Schneider’s apology: ‘A nice performance’

Schneider apologises after docuseries reveals that sets on Nickelodeon shows he ran were rife with abuse and harassment

Former cast members of Nickelodeon’s All That have questioned the sincerity of Dan Schneider’s apology after a docuseries featuring former show writers and child actors revealed that he ran a toxic workplace filled with abuse and harassment.

After the documentary series Quiet on Set: The Dark Side of Kids TV aired, Schneider posted an apology video on YouTube, saying that he found it “very difficult” to watch as he faced his “past behaviours – some of which are embarrassing and that I regret”.

Bryan Hearne, who was a cast member on All That on seasons seven and eight, said on a bonus episode of the docuseries: “If I could be candid, Dan was an actor before all of this and so I think that he brushed off some chops and gave us a nice performance”.

Actor Giovonnie Samuels said she received a call from Schneider before Quiet on Set was released and asked for a “quote of support”.

“He was like, ‘You had a good time on set, right?’ I told him I was terrified of him. I said, ‘You have the power to make people stars. And I was intimidated by you. I wanted to do a good job,’” she said in the episode.

Quiet on Set, a four-part documentary series by Investigation Discovery, decided to follow with one more special episode to wrap things up.

Writer/producer Dan Schneider (C) accepts the Lifetime Achievement Award onstage with actors from his shows during Nickelodeon's 27th Annual Kids' Choice Awards (Getty Images)

Samuels also said she felt that she was treated like a token Black actor on the show and asked to perform in stereotypical roles.

“It was very evident from the first day it was just the two of us,” she recalled.

“That’s usually the first thing you do as a person of colour, you count who’s in the room in front and behind the camera. And there were two people”.

Actor Raquel Lee Bolleau, who starred in The Amanda Show, also featured in an interview on this episode, where she described a sketch where Amanda Bynes had to repeatedly spit out liquid directly in her face.

“Every time I said, ‘Spit it out,’ she would spit what was in her mouth – whether it was water, whatever – directly in my face,” said Bolleau.

“Everybody thought it was so funny. Ha ha. Everybody’s laughing. Me? I did not find it funny.”

Hosted by journalist Soledad O’Brien, the bonus episode also featured disturbing unseen footage as well as an interview with former All That cast member Shane Lyons, who revealed Brian Peck made inappropriate comments to him.

Drake Bell revealed the extensive sexual abuse he suffered at by former Nickelodeon dialogue coach Brian Peck. Peck was sentenced to 16 months in prison for lewd conduct with a minor in 2004 for which Bell had provided anonymous testimony.

Drake Bell in 'Quiet on Set: The Dark Side of Kids TV’ (Investigation Discovery)

In August 2003, Peck was arrested on more than a dozen charges related to sexual abuse allegations involving an unnamed minor.

Lyons said he found Bell’s story “absolutely gut-wrenching” and though he was lucky “nothing like that happened to me”, there were “certainly some passes”.

He went on to describe a story where Peck made a reference to “blue balls”.

“I just didn’t know what they were. And he goes, ‘Well, we know what blue balls are. Right, Shane? I said, ‘Yeah, like racquetballs.’ All right, I’m a kid. 13, 14. As I think back now, as an adult, as a 36-year-old, I would never have a conversation with a 13-year-old boy like he had with me. It makes absolutely zero sense”.

The Independent has reached out to Schneider and his agents for comment.

Quiet on Set is streaming on Max in the US and on Discovery+ in the UK.

If you are a child and you need help because something has happened to you, you can call the NSPCC free of charge on 0800 1111. You can also call the NSPCC if you are an adult and you are worried about a child, on 0808 800 5000. The National Association for People Abused in Childhood (Napac) offers support for adults on 0808 801 0331