WTF

Normal 👏 gay 👏 men 👏do 👏not 👏 touch 👏socialize 👏 and physically hang 👏 on 👏young 👏 teenage 👏 boys!

Shame on that female production assistant for gaslighting that Drake actor's dad into thinking his concerns about hebephilic behaviors are inborn homophobia.

After watching the “Quiet On Set” documentary, I can’t help but feel like there are literally no good people in the entertainment industry. Even the “good” ones aren’t good. It solidifies that we don’t actually know anything about them. We only know who they present as to the media. 

I think like most people around my age, we grew up watching Nickelodeon during its golden age. I always looked forward to watching “All That” not only because it was funny, but because it was something I could watch with my older siblings. It was something the four of us could laugh together about. My sister and I still laugh over the bit from “Keenan and Kel” where Kel admits to dropping the screw in the tuna. So many iconic characters and television shows were created at the hands of Dan Schneider. 

What else was created at the hands of Dan Schneider were countless acts of abuse, harassment, manipulation, and much more. His sets were homes to child sexual abusers. Adults who are around children each and every day, taking advantage of their trust and innocence, grooming them and harming them physically and mentally. 

It’s not easy for victims of abuse to speak up. Many aren’t believed. Reliving trauma is a horrific experience, so I commend each and every person who shared their story for this docuseries. There were previous cast members who aren’t as well known who got to share their truths, there were crew members sharing stories about Dan’s harassment and sexism on set. There were many crew members that felt uncomfortable about the scenes they were shooting, but no one spoke up. Dan had so much power at Nickelodeon because he kept churning out hit after hit after hit. The parents weren’t much better, but I’ll come back to that. 

The docuseries revealed three adult men who were caught for child pornography, and for sexually abusing children. One man’s name is Brian Peck. He groomed Drake Bell for years. Joe Bell, Drake’s father, did everything he could to keep Brian away from Drake because he knew something just wasn’t right with how Brian acted around his son. Brian eventually convinced Drake to fire his father as his manager, and let his mother take over. This gave Brian the room to drive Drake to and from auditions, take him to Disneyland with him and his friends, and more. Drake Bell revealed in the documentary that Brian Peck sexually assaulted and abused him for years. Since Drake was a minor when it started, his identity was kept secret.

During the trial, many people wrote letters for Brian Peck, attesting to his character: James Marden, Taran Killam, Alan Thicke, Thomas DeSano, Ron Melendez, Rider Strong, and Will Friedle. Some of these names are extremely surprising, and others aren't at all.

Joanna Kerns saying, "there must have been some extreme situation or temptation exerted on him to influence is actions" at the time, and is now saying "I have now learned that my letter of support was based on complete misinformation.

Knowing what I know now, I never would have written the letter". For me, it's not even about her writing the letter, it's about her blaming Drake Bell, the victim, and child in the situation, as if Brian Peck wasn't a grown man who should have known better.

Kimmy Robertson also wrote victim blaming language in her letter of support for Brian Peck.

Rich Correll wrote, "it would be my pleasure to work with him again". And then he did! Brian was allowed to work on The Suite Life! Correll later said, they had no input or involvement in the casting". He also went on to say that, "Mr. Peck simply replied that 'the problem had been solved'".

The series went on from there, explaining how Dan’s behaviors just got worse and worse, and he “flew too close to the sun”. The inappropriate sexual innuendo bits on his shows happened more and more frequently. This included constant closeups on actors’ feet, many of the young female actresses being forced to be squirted in the face with various liquids to represent “money shots”. Ariana Grande probably had it the worst in that she had to film videos that went directly to YouTube, many of which included her biting her own toenails, squeezing a potato until juice squirted out of it, etc. Just absolutely disgusting things that do not make sense for a CHILDREN’S television show. These weren’t jokes for kids. This was Dan Schneider abusing his power, and seeing how much he could get away with. 

It wasn’t until Jeanette McCurdy’s mother died that Nickelodeon finally launched an investigation into Dan Schneider. Jeanette talks about this in her book, “I’m Glad My Mom Died”, which was a heart wrenching read, but well worth it. Jeanette returned to work a WEEK after her mother died from a long battle with cancer. Because of the backlash she got for that, Nickelodeon realized that it was the culture Dan created that probably made Jeanette feel like she had to come back, that she couldn’t take more time off. 

All Nickelodeon did was remove Dan from his sets, and made it so he could only watch from his office and give notes from there. Even though he wasn’t physically on set, the toxic and hostile environment was still alive and well because he was still watching everyone’s every move. 

Thanks to #MeToo, more and more women started speaking up about their experiences on set with Dan Schneider. And then in 2018 Nickelodeon finally kicked Dan Schneider to the curb after launching another investigation based off the new claims. The investigation didn't reveal proof of sexual abuse, but it revealed more cases of harassment of his actors and his crews.

Child stars are often made fun of and exploited by the media as they transition into adulthood. We watch their mental health decline until they’re caught having a breakdown. People point and laugh, and say it’s just another child star who couldn’t handle life as a grown up. But what I think a lot of people don’t understand is that many child stars are forced into the entertainment business. Parents put their financial burdens on their children, tell them they need to work to support the family. That’s a lot of pressure to put on a child. So, if something bad is happening on a set, a kid is going to be too afraid to speak up because they could be fired, and if they’re fired, then they’re not making money for their families. The parents are supposed to be on set and with the kids at all times. But so many turn the other cheek and don’t speak up because they don’t want to risk their kids getting fired. 

It just feels like no adults, not even the ones you’re meant to trust, are safe to be around. In some way, shape, or form these kids get abused. Whether it’s sexual abuse, racism, inflicted eating disorders, or other types of mental abuse, they’re not safe. No one is looking out for them. Everyone is more concerned with making money. 

The entertainment industry squeezes the youth dry and tosses them aside when they can’t legally control them anymore. And we wonder why so many of them have a tough time later on in life. The lucky ones are helped through therapy, and the not so lucky ones either turn up dead, broke, abused, or end up abusing others as they were abused. 

I am feeling very sad and heartbroken. And I’m not sure where to go from here. So many of these shows have brought me comfort and laughs over the years. I don’t know if I’ll ever be able to enjoy them again. Is it okay to sit and watch reruns or should we be boycotting everything? I want to help in the ways that I can, but I also know that the world will stop caring about this in a week or so when the next big truth bomb about something else is dropped. 

People who have no moral conscious, people who are okay letting children be hurt for the sake of their own wallets shouldn’t have any power. And I hope everyone involved in hurting these kids, past and present, is forced to answer for what they did. I hope they’re shamed and cancelled and doxxed and everything else bad that can happen to people like them. I hope they go broke and become ruined. And at this point, I hope Nickelodeon just crashes and burns. They don’t deserve any salvation. 

Wow. I have so much respect for Drake Bell for sharing his story. Like. Holy shit.

I started and finished Quiet on Set in one sitting this evening. There’s obviously a lot to unpack from this docu-series and it would take a significant amount of time to run through every single thing that stood out to me in all the wrong ways, so I just want to quickly say this: there was an abundance of red flags with all these adults who were trusted with young children, and it truly blows my mind that 1) Nickelodeon as a network approved it and 2) almost none of the parents of these child stars spoke out about it. The ones who did were either alienated from their child or their child was fired. I can’t remember who it was who said something along the lines of “if you’re an adult who’s going to employ children, it’s your responsibility to ensure that you create an environment where they feel safe expressing they’re not comfortable with something,” but she hit the nail on the head with that one. In the 20 year time span this docu-series covered, none of these child stars felt comfortable expressing any discomfort they felt in their tenure with Nickelodeon. Jennette McCurdy’s book still haunts me to this day, and it pains me to say that she barely scratched the surface.

It’s disappointing to learn that so many disgusting things were going on behind the scenes of so many shows I adored as a child/tween, and I hope every single one of these child stars know how much support they have and are able to heal.

Dan Schneider, Jason Handy, Brian Peck, Ezel Channel, Robin Bell, and whoever else was behind these child stars being abused and exploited — you should all feel ashamed of yourselves and I genuinely hope you all know no peace for the rest of your lives.

why the fuck is no one talking about that four part documentary that just came out about nickelodeon and dan schneider???

the quiet on set documentary has me in absolute shambles…those kids deserved SAFE adults in their corner and almost every adult in that environment failed them

Quiet on Set: The Dark Side of Kids TV Too Close to the Sun Mary Robertson, Emma Schwartz USA, 2024

"...Schneider enabled predation and exploitation of its stars like Amanda Bynes, Drake Bell, and a slew of others by employing and working with men like Brian Peck..."

Life Lately: March 2024

Looking back on what's been going on in the last month

This month has been stressful to say the least, but I also accomplished a lot. The company I work for has returned to two days a week in office and considering daylight savings happened around the same time, my body was not a fan of getting up early multiple days in a row. I’m sure I’ll eventually get used to it but it was really rough at first. I also finally returned to body painting so I’m…

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I made a list in my phone of all the people who defended Brian Peck, so I know never to interact with their shit again.

The name that shocked me most was Alan Thicke. How dare ANYBODY defend someone who harmed a fucking child??? But Alan coming to his defense? What the fuck ?

I feel so fucking sick for Drake Bell. I feel sick for all the people who were harmed in those years at Nickelodeon.

So I'm not sure if anyone has heard, but next month ID is going to be airing a miniseries exposing all of Dan Schneider's shit at Nickelodeon, Quiet on Set: The Dark Side of Kids TV, with many of his former child actors speaking out. I look forward to this- these actors all deserve to have their voices heard.

Which reminds me of what may be THE worst take I have ever heard online...I have legitimately read one take elsewhere from someone saying that they hope the Schneider stuff never gets proven because "it could ruin Nickelodeon forever and possibly get it shut down". Look- I grew up with Nickelodeon. 90s Nick was a big part of my childhood. The safety of current and future child actors and the opportunity for older actors who once worked under conditions like that to speak out and getting the justice they deserve is WAY more important than a dying kids cable network.

"I addressed my statement to everyone in the room. I looked at all of them and said, 'How dare you.' I said, 'You will forever have the memory of sitting in this courtroom defending this person, and I will forever have the memory of the person you're defending violating me, and doing unspeakable acts and crimes.'"

-Drake Bell, Quiet on the Set: The Dark Side of Kids TV (2024)

Oh my god, nickelodeon should have had the plug pulled completely, like as in it should not exist anymore

Quiet on Set: The Dark Side of Kids TV The Darkest Secret Mary Robertson, Emma Schwartz USA, 2024

Everyone waggling their finger at drake bell in their retrospective posts do not understand how to keep ideas separated.. Yes, Drake Bell talked to an underage girl, however the crimes committed against him are so heinous that it explains many of his actions. At his core Drake is a very kind guy who has been fucked over and then lashes out. But he takes responsibility for his misdemeanors and works to improve himself.