Dan Schneider denies "sexualising" kids on his Nickelodeon shows following new allegations

19 March 2024, 12:25

Watch the Quiet On Set: The Dark Side of Kids TV trailer

By Sam Prance

In the new documentary, Quiet on Set: The Dark Side of Kids TV, multiple people share allegations of inappropriate behaviour on Dan Schneider's sets.

Dan Schneider has released a new statement following claims that he "sexualised" child stars in his Nickelodeon TV shows.

Over the weekend (Mar 17), a new two-part documentary titled Quiet on Set: The Dark Side of Kids TV premiered on ID. The docuseries includes interviews with cast and crew members from Dan Schneider's shows (iCarly, Victorious, Drake & Josh), many of whom have come forward with allegations of abuse, sexism, racism and inappropriate dynamics on set.

Quiet on Set also features multiple supercuts of footage from Dan Schneider's shows in which it appears that child actors including Jamie Lynn Spears and Ariana Grande are being sexualised. In 2022, Dan also came under fire after Jennette McCurdy opened up about her negative experiences working with him in her memoir I'm Glad My Mom Died.

Now, Dan has addressed the new Quiet on Set allegations against him and denied ever sexualising children in his work.

READ MORE: Ariana Grande fans resurface "disturbing" video amid Jennette McCurdy's comments about Dan Schneider

In a statement to Variety, a representative for Dan said: "Everything that happened on the shows Dan ran was carefully scrutinised by dozens of involved adults, and approved by the network. If there was an actual problem with the scenes that some people, now years later are ‘sexualising,’ they would be taken down, but they are not, they are aired constantly all over the world today still, enjoyed by both kids and parents."

They added: "Remember, all stories, dialogue, costumes, and makeup were fully approved by network executives on two coasts. A standards and practices group read and ultimately approved every script, and programming executives reviewed and approved all episodes. In addition, every day on every set, there were always parents and caregivers and their friends watching filming and rehearsals."

The statement then ends: "Had there been any scenes or outfits that were inappropriate in any way, they would have been flagged and blocked by this multilayered scrutiny. Unfortunately, some adults project their adult minds onto kids’ shows, drawing false conclusions about them."

Some of the scenes in Dan's TV shows being criticised actually weren't aired on the Nickelodeon network. Dan wrote a web-show spinoff for Victorious called Cat's Random Thoughts, and it has been criticised in recent years for its sexual nature. In the series, Ariana Grande, who was just 16 at the time, acts out numerous suggestive scenes.

In Quiet on Set, multiple crew members also claim that Dan asked them to massage him on set. In response, his team have said: "Dan deeply regrets asking anyone for neck massages. Though they happened in public settings, he knows this was highly inappropriate and would never happen again."

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