Former Nickelodeon creative Dan Schneider has opened up following a litany of allegations made against him in the Investigation Discovery docuseries Quiet on Set: The Dark Side of Kids TV.
Schneider uploaded a new video to his DanWarp YouTube channel on Tuesday, in which he spoke with Bobby Bowman, who played T-Bo on Nickelodeon’s hit series iCarly. In the interview, Schneider said watching the documentary series’ first two episodes was hard.
“Watching over the past two nights was very difficult. Me facing my past behaviors, some of which are embarrassing and that I regret. I definitely owe some people a pretty strong apology,” said Schneider (via The Hollywood Reporter). “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. 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.”
Schneider addresses other allegations
Among the many allegations levied against Schneider, the documentary details the fostering of an extremely toxic workplace under the writer. These allegations ranged from harsh working conditions to sexualized content, with many saying that Schneider was seemingly aware of them.
Schneider also opened up about his relationship with Drake Bell, who is the main focus of the third episode of Quiet on Set, as he details his alleged sexual assault at the hands of Brian Peck. Schneider claims he didn’t hire Peck and was actually a friend to Bell, even tearing up when discussing allegedly helping Bell’s mother come up with a letter to read to the court.
“When Drake and I talked, and he told me about what happened, I was more devastated by that than anything that ever happened to me in my career thus far. And I told him, ‘I’m here for you,'” Schneider said before noting that Bell’s mother “came to me at the time, and she said, ’Dan, I’m not good with words like you are. And would you help me with my speech for the judge? I said, ‘of course.’ I did, and he (Peck) ended up going to prison and serving his time.”
Other allegations against Schneider note that he was inappropriate to young females who worked for him and would often write inappropriate scripts that left child actors uncomfortable to perform. The writer acknowledged certain jokes should’ve been cut but didn’t dive too deep into what exactly he felt was inappropriate.
