Nickelodeon head hits back with lawsuit after "Quiet on Set" scandal

The echoes of the discussion stirred by the documentary miniseries "Silence on Set: The Dark Side of Children's Television" by Mary Robertson and Emmy Schwartz continue reverberating. The title revealed many irregularities that were said to have occurred in creating productions for the youngest viewers and got under the skin of at least a few people. One of them is Dan Schneider, the head of Nickelodeon.

For the first time, we wrote about the case in mid-March. The series, which aired on Investigation Discovery, caused a real storm, particularly because of Drake Bell, once a child star, who confessed to being a victim of convicted paedophile Brian Peck on set. The document also mentioned Dan Schneider, the ruler of Nickelodeon, numerous times, accusing him of sexism, bullying, and harassment. A few days after the premiere, the man posted a video online.

"Watching over the past two nights was very difficult, me facing my past behaviors, some of which are embarrassing and that I regret, and I definitely owe some people a pretty strong apology," he said in a nearly 20-minute video on his YouTube channel. Now, however, Schneider has changed his strategy.

As a media report, the man filed a defamation lawsuit against the producers and creators of the documentary "Silence on Set...", suggesting that he sexually exploited Nickelodeon child stars. According to him, the production is a targeted hit full of "false statements and implications," Content of the allegations was accessed, among others, by Page Six.

"While it is indisputable that two bona fide child sexual abusers worked on Nickelodeon shows, it is likewise indisputable that Schneider had no knowledge of their abuse, was not complicit in the abuse, condemned the abuse once it was discovered and, critically, was not a child sexual abuser himself. But for the sake of clickbait, ratings, and views — or put differently, money — Defendants have destroyed Schneider’s reputation and legacy through the false statements and implications that Schneider is exactly that," can be read in the document.

These were supposedly shown already in the trailer, in which the head of the station's relationship with the child audience and cast members is emphasized, and video clips of his involvement are juxtaposed with the question: "How safe can any kids be in that environment?" In the trailer, Schneider quickly becomes the only suspect, and frankly guilty, because according to the main subject, the material is prepared under a certain, unfavorably presenting thesis.

Associated with Nickelodeon for 25 years (1993–2018), the creator, in a statement for Page Six, did not retract his apologies to former colleagues but also stressed that he had nothing to do with exploiting the youngest on set. "In their successful attempt to mislead viewers and increase ratings, they went beyond reporting the truth and falsely implied that I was involved in or facilitated horrific crimes for which actual child predators have been prosecuted and convicted," he wrote.