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By Akira Morris
Max’s recent documentary, “Quiet on Set: The Dark Side of Kids TV” serves as a serious reminder of the urgent need to stop exploitation and mistreatment of child actors within the entertainment industry.
Directed by the talented duo Mary Robertson and Emma Schwartz, this eye-opening documentary is the first of its kind to reveal the dark truth surrounding the exploitation of young actors, particularly regarding Nickelodeon child actors.
I believe one of the most disturbing and disheartening aspects of the documentary is how Nickelodeon writers witnessed and ignored the inappropriate gestures targeted toward the child actors.
For instance, Penelope Taynt is a character from The Amanda Show mentioned in Quiet on Set. Former writer Jenny Kilgen explained that the creator Dan Schneider instructed the writers to keep the true meaning of the word “taint” a secret as it is inappropriate.
“Man, that is power,” Kilgen said. “That you can just say you want something and it’s done. It’s one of those things where it’s like ew, it’s a young girl.”
This joke is just one of the many adult-like jokes featured in Schneider’s shows.
Unfortunately, the working environment at Nickelodeon specifically in the writers’ room was tense and hostile which added to the disturbing atmosphere.
Christy Stratton and Kilgen, the only two female writers on season one of “The Amanda Show” revealed that Schneider behaved inappropriately at work and showed them pornography and requested massages.
They described the workplace as toxic under Schneider’s leadership. “Working with Dan felt like being in an abusive relationship,” Stratton said.
“Sometimes he would also say things like, ‘Can you please give me a massage? I’ll put one of your sketches in the show,’” Kilgen said.
“He would always present it like a joke and he would be laughing while he said it. But you always felt like disagreeing with Dan or standing up for yourself could result in you getting fired,” Kilgen said.
Fearing the man in charge and worrying if one little mistake would lead to termination was probably the hardest thing the female writers had to go through during their time at Nickelodeon.
Even with established rules and regulations to protect child actors in the entertainment industry, the documentary proves that many people, including parents of the child stars, won’t speak up and take action when bad things happen.
A mother who identified as MJ, of a former child actor Brandi from “The Amanda Show”, opened up about the sexual misconduct her daughter faced at the hands of a convicted sex offender Jason Handy in the second episode.
One week after her filming Brandi, whose real name was not disclosed, started receiving emails from Handy. The mother explained at first how nothing was out of the ordinary. “She let me read it,” MJ said. “It was very innocent. It just talked about the shows that he had been working on.”
A few months later Handy sent a photo of himself to the child actor which some might consider inappropriate. The child actor’s mother shared that Jason explained he sent the photo because he wanted to show that he was thinking of her.
The mother was torn on whether or not to involve the authorities, fearing judgment as a parent for allowing her child to communicate with Handy. This inner conflict caused great distress and eventually led to her daughter Brandi leaving the entertainment industry for good.
Despite Brandi’s departure from the industry, authorities were not alerted right away and thus allowed Handy to avoid being held accountable for his actions until later.
Parents can often fail to realize that staying silent in situations like Brandi’s allows more despicable individuals to harm and traumatize children.
This is seen in the most gut-retching part of the documentary when former Nickelodeon actor Drake Bell shared his experience of being sexually abused at the age of 15. Bell revealed that he was a victim of abuse by Brian Peck, a dialogue coach on Nickelodeon’s “All That” and “The Amanda Show.”
Bell’s father managed him early in his career but grew concerned about the amount of time Peck was spending with his son. He expressed his discomfort to the production team and said that he didn’t see anything abnormal but just had a negative feeling about it.
According to Joe Bell, the production team informed him that Peck was gay and suggested that his discomfort stemmed from homophobia and a lack of understanding of Peck’s friendly nature.
Feeling alienated, Joe Bell eventually distanced himself and was gradually excluded from his son’s life.
In 2003, Drake finally opened up to his mother about the ongoing sexual abuse he was suffering at the hands of Peck. Peck was arrested and served 16 months in prison and was required to register as a sex offender.
Shortly after Peck’s arrest, Bell began shooting “Drake & Josh” and loved his work. Sadly he struggled to process his happiness and excitement on set with the trauma he had endured.
I stress that we must acknowledge the fact that the entertainment industry has continued to ignore this problem and actively participates in the abuse of its weakest and most vulnerable stars.
As the audience, we can’t just simply move on after watching “Quiet on Set: The Dark Side of Kids TV.” We need to take action and hold all entertainment industry companies accountable because it’s not only Nickelodeon that exploits and abuses child actors.
This means demanding background checks for executives and implementing new rules that prioritize children’s safety and wellness.
I encourage us as viewers to reflect on our consuming habits and the content we engage with. If we decide not to support movies and TV programs that exploit actors, it sends a clear message to the entertainment industry that such unethical practices are unacceptable and won’t be tolerated.
In all, “Quiet on Set” is not just another documentary but a cry for help as it exposes child actors’ disturbing realities.
The documentary shines a necessary light on child actor abuse. It forces us to accept these uncomfortable truths and helps us work together to begin a new era where such abuse no longer exists.
Photo by Brands&People via Unsplash.
