The former 'Drake and Josh' producer 'was more devastated by that than anything that ever happened in my career thus far' when he discovered his child star was abused on set.
- Mar 20, 2024
AceShowbiz - Former Nickelodeon producer Dan Schneider has issued an apology after being accused of sexism, racism, and inappropriate workplace behavior in the new documentary "Quiet on Set".
In a video posted to his YouTube channel, Schneider expressed regret for his past actions, acknowledging that he "could see the hurt in some people's eyes" when watching the documentary.
Schneider, 58, stated that he "definitely owes some people a pretty strong apology," adding that he wishes he could go back in time and "never, ever feel like it was okay to be an a--hole to anyone."
He also responded to the abuse committed by dialogue coach Brian Peck. "I did not hire Brian Peck," he said. "When Drake and I talked and he told me what had happened, I was more devastated by that than anything that ever happened in my career thus far."
"He went to court when this guy was being tried, Peck, and when Drake walked in he saw 50 people sitting on the side of the courtroom supporting Peck. A lot of them pretty famous. Of course Drake was devastated that that happened," Dan continued.
"Even more disappointing, 41 of those people wrote letters for Peck. Character letters, praising him for who he was and asking for leniency. They knew that he was guilty. They knew he had confessed to some degree and they still did this. It's baffling that adults would do that."
Those people included James Marsden, Alan Thicke, and Rider Strong. Their letters have since gone public after years of being kept hidden.
Drake slammed former "Boy Meets World" stars Rider and Will Friedle despite their recent criticisms of Brian Peck. Drake said they only spoke out "because they were told their letters are going to be made public. Everyone thought the letters would be sealed forever and no one would ever see them. This is their publicist telling them how to get ahead of the story."
Meanwhile in his video, Dan also addressed criticism over "jokes" in older episodes of his shows, saying that they were intended for children and were perceived as humorous at the time. However, he now believes they should be removed.
"Every one of those jokes was written for a kid audience because kids thought they were funny, and only funny," Schneider claimed. "Let's cut those jokes out of the show, just like I would have done 20 years ago or 25 years ago."
"I want my shows to be popular," he continued. "I want everyone to like [the shows], the more people who liked the shows, the happier I am. So if there's anything that needs to be cut because it's upsetting somebody, let's cut it."
Schneider was the producer behind popular Nickelodeon shows such as "The Amanda Show", "Drake & Josh", "Zoey 101", "iCarly", "Victorious", and "Sam & Cat".
In the four-part documentary, which aired on ID, Schneider was accused by former Nickelodeon child stars and employees of creating a toxic work environment and allegedly tormenting and humiliating the cast and crew.
Schneider has not responded to all specific allegations made in the documentary. However, a spokesperson for him told Page Six that he "was truly sorry" for his past actions against his staff.
"Dan expected and asked a lot from his teams," the spokesperson said. "They worked long hours and consistently made successful shows. In the challenges of production, Dan could get frustrated at times, and he understands why some employees found that intimidating and stressful."
Nickelodeon cut ties with Schneider in 2018 amid reports of inappropriate treatment of younger stars. Schneider reportedly received a $7 million payout.
A spokesperson for Schneider also stated that everything that happened on his shows was "carefully scrutinized by dozens of involved adults, and approved by the network."
