Josh Peck has offered his support to “survivors who were brave enough to tell their stories of emotional and physical abuse on the set of Nickelodeon” after allegations were made in a new documentary series.
The US actor, who starred alongside Drake Bell in the popular Nickelodeon sitcom “Drake & Josh”, had been criticized online for his alleged “silence” after Bell appeared in the documentary and claimed he had been the victim of sexual assault while working at Nickelodeon.
Peck, who recently starred in Christopher Nolan’s Oscar-winning biopic “Oppenheimer,” said it took him “a few days to process” the documentary, titled “Quiet On Set: The Dark Side Of Kids TV,” which aired on U.S. streaming platform Max.
“I have reached out to Drake (Bell) privately, but wanted to express my support to the survivors who were brave enough to share their stories of emotional and physical abuse on Nickelodeon sets with the world,” Peck said on Instagram.
“Children should be protected.
“It is incredibly difficult to relive this publicly, but I hope it can bring healing to the victims and their families and bring about the change our industry needs.”
Previously, former Nickelodeon executive producer Dan Schneider had commented on the allegations made in the documentary about his behavior during his long tenure at the television station.
The four-part series made allegations of a toxic work environment for child actors and crew members on Nickelodeon shows created by Schneider, including “The Amanda Show,” “iCarly,” “Victorious,” “Drake & Josh,” “Zoey 101” and “Sam & Cat.”
In an interview on his YouTube channel, Schneider said the documentary was “very difficult. I had to confront my past behavior, some of which is embarrassing and which I regret.”
“I definitely owe some people a pretty serious apology,” he said.
Schneider is said to have launched the careers of child actors who went on to become major stars, including Miranda Cosgrove, Jamie Lynn Spears and Ariana Grande.
The allegations against Schneider included his tolerance of harmful working conditions and the alleged torture and humiliation of cast and crew on his television sets.
“I hate it when someone has worked for me and not had fun doing it,” he said.
Schneider also addressed allegations that he asked crew members to massage him on set, saying, “That was wrong.”
