Topline
Former kids’ show producer Dan Schneider—who ran hit Nickelodeon shows like “Zoey 101” and “All That”—apologized for his on-set behavior in an interview with a former cast member, breaking his silence after a new Investigation Discovery docuseries analyzing allegations of toxic workplace culture on Schnieder’s shows.
Key Facts
Schneider released an interview Tuesday afternoon between himself and BooG!E, who played T-Bo on Schneider’s show “iCarly,” in which he apologized and said watching the show and “facing my past behaviors” was “very difficult.”
He apologized for asking people for massages on set and for making writers feel uncomfortable, saying he is “embarrassed” by how he ran a writers’ room and admitting there were times he “said things that went too far” because he was “inexperienced” and “immature” and he’s “really sorry it happened.”
Schneider said if he could go back, the main thing he would change “is how I treat people,” saying: “I definitely at times didn’t give people the best of me. I didn’t show enough patience. I could be cocky and definitely over ambitious, and sometimes just straight up rude and obnoxious and I am so sorry.”
The video statements from Schneider came just one day after an unnamed representative for him told multiple news outlets in a statement that “everything that happened on the shows Dan ran was carefully scrutinized by dozens of involved adults, and approved by the network.”
News Peg
Investigation Discovery released its four-episode docuseries “Quiet on Set” on Sunday and Monday. The series provides “the untold story of the toxic and abusive environment inside ’90s kids’ TV” and features interviews with former child stars and crew members who alleged Schnieder ran a toxic workplace and was inappropriate to young actors on his shows.
Crucial Quote
“When I watched the show, I could see the hurt in some people’s eyes and it made me feel awful and regretful and sorry,” Schneider said in the video. “I wish I could go back, especially to those earlier years of my career, and bring the growth and the experience that I have now and just do a better job and never, ever feel like it was okay to be an asshole to anyone, ever.”