Former Nickelodeon producer and writer Dan Schneider sued the makers of 바카라Quiet on Set: The Dark Side of Kids TV바카라, alleging the makers of the documentary series wrongly implied that he sexually abused the child actors he worked with.
Schneider filed the defamation suit against Warner Bros. Discovery and other companies behind the series in Los Angeles Superior Court on Wednesday.
Schneider, a former teenage actor, was a central figure in Nickelodeon's dominance of kid culture in the 1990s and 2000s with his work on the sketch shows 바카라All That," 바카라The Amanda Show바카라 and 바카라Kenan & Kel", and as an executive producer on shows including 바카라Zoey 101바카라, 바카라iCarly바카라 and 바카라Victorious바카라.
He is also the key figure in 바카라Quiet on Set바카라, which aired on true crime cable channel ID in March, has since been streaming on Max, and has made major waves among Nickelodeon's former stars and viewers.
It uses cast and crew interviews to describe the shows' sexualisation of young teens and a toxic and abusive work environment that many said Schneider was responsible for. It also includes descriptions of sexual abuse of child actors, including 바카라The Amanda Show바카라 and 바카라Drake & Josh바카라 star Drake Bell, by crew members who were later convicted for it.
But Schneider, who parted ways with Nickelodeon in 2018, said in the suit that the 바카라Quiet on Set바카라 trailer and episodes of the show deliberately mix and juxtapose images and mentions of him with the criminal sexual abusers to imply he was involved.
바카라Quiet on Set's' portrayal of Schneider is a hit job," the suit says. 바카라While 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.바카라
The suit names as defendants Warner Bros. Discovery 바카라 the parent company of ID and Max 바카라 and the show's production companies, Sony Pictures Television and Maxine Productions.
Emails seeking comment from representatives from the three companies were not immediately returned.
The four-part series suggests that Schneider's shows had a tendency to put young women in comic situations with sexual implications, and depicts him as an angry and emotionally abusive boss.
It includes direct allegations of sexual harassment and gender discrimination from women who worked as writers under him on 바카라All That." They said he showed pornography on his computer in their presence in the writers' room and asked for massages, joking they would lead to the women's sketches making the show, which Schneider has denied.
It also includes an interview with Bell in which he describes 바카라extensive바카라 and 바카라brutal바카라 sexual abuse by a dialogue coach when he was 15, and with the mother of another girl who was sexually abused by a crew member.
The Associated Press does not typically name people who say they have been sexually abused unless they come forward publicly, as Bell has.
After the initial release of the show, Schneider broadly apologised in a YouTube video for 바카라past behaviours, some of which are embarrassing and that I regret.바카라
But the lawsuit says the show and especially its trailer unjustly implicate him in child sexual abuse by showing images of him 바카라 including some with his arm around young actors 바카라 over discussions of an environment that was unsafe for them.
The suit seeks damages to be determined at trial for what it calls 바카라the destruction of Schneider's reputation and legacy바카라 through 바카라false statements and implications.바카라
Nickelodeon, which is not involved in the lawsuit, said in a statement on the series that it cannot 바카라corroborate or negate바카라 allegations from decades ago, but it investigates all formal complaints and has rigorous protocols for working minors.
바카라Our highest priorities are the well-being and best interests not just of our employees, casts and crew, but of all children,바카라 a network spokesperson said in a statement, 바카라and we have adopted numerous safeguards over the years to help ensure we are living up to our own high standards and the expectations of our audience.바카라
