Former child actress and star of Nickelodeon’s “Zoey 101,” Alexa Nikolas said she finds it hard to believe showrunner Dan Schneider’s recent apology for allegedly creating a “toxic work environment.”
“I experienced a lot of bullying, a lot of emotional, verbal abuse,” Nikolas told CNN’s Sara Sidner on Thursday. “I essentially experienced a toxic work environment, but when you think of toxic work environments, you usually think it’s adults that are having to be in them. You don’t really think about children having to experience that.”
(Video: CNN)
“I feel like an apology is to the person that you have harmed,” she said of Schneider’s mea culpa. “You know, when you hear an apology through other people, I don’t really feel like that is a genuine apology, and so it’s very hard for me to believe him, let alone forgive him.”
As BizPac Review reported, Nikolas led a protest outside Nickelodeon’s studio in Burbank, Calif., on Tuesday, following the release of an explosive documentary from Investigation Discovery titled, “Quiet on Set: The Dark Side of Kids TV.”
Joined by several of her fellow child actors, the documentary delves into the network’s “abuse, sexism, racism, and inappropriate dynamics with its underage stars and crew.”
The Burbank protest was live-streamed with activists chanting, “Power to survivors!” and, “Protect survivors, not predators!”
Holding back tears, Nikolas told Sidner, “As a survivor, I feel like you always think you’re the only one and because of that, you end up holding a lot of what happened to you in.”
“And so to experience and witness so many others have their own similar experiences was not only horrible to watch and sad,” she said, “but it was so extremely validating to know that I was not the only one.”
Speaking in Burbank, called the moment “monumental.”
“This is a very monumental moment for child stars everywhere,” she said. “We were so scared of these networks and the adults that we were working for for such a long time, and now we’re adults and we get to let them know how we feel.”
The documentary addresses the sexual abuse of children committed by former Nickelodeon Assistant Jason Handy, Dialogue Coach Brian Peck, and Studio Freelancer Ezell Channel.
Schneider — who, in addition to “Zoey 101,” created the popular shows, “The Amanda Show,” “Drake & Josh,” “All That,” and “iCarly” — is accused of abusing children and being guilty of misogynistic behavior.
‘Protect survivors, not predators!’ Nickelodeon star leads protest following explosive documentary https://t.co/hyrjr8unaU via @BIZPACReview
— BPR based (@DumpstrFireNews) March 20, 2024
In a 19-minute video interview with BooG!E, who played “T-Bo” on “iCarly,” following the release of the damning documentary Schneider called some of his past behaviors “embarrassing.”
“Watching over the past two nights was very difficult—facing my past behaviors, some of which are embarrassing and that I regret. I definitely owe some people a pretty strong apology,” he said. “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 OK to be an a**hole to anyone, ever,” he stated.
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Melissa Fine is the former executive editor of Casino Player, Strictly Slots, and Poker
Digest magazines. She is a UCLA graduate, news junkie, and dedicated Stargate SG-
1 fan. Melissa currently lives with her dog and two cats in a tiny town in the Sierra
Nevada foothills.
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