As a child growing up in the ’90s and 2000’s my absolute favorite thing was to wake up on Saturday morning and watch cartoons before my mom kicked me out of the house for the rest of the day. Shows like “All That,” “The Amanda Show,” “Zoey 101,” “iCarly” and “Drake & Josh” were my favorites.
Like most of the world on March 17, I witnessed the horrifying truth of what truly took place behind the scenes of those Nickelodeon shows in a five-part documentary on streaming platform HBO Max and it made me sick to my stomach.
While I was laughing until CapriSun came out of my nose those kids were losing their innocence and a piece of themselves at our expense.
“Quiet on Set: The Dark Side of Kids TV” detailed some of the behind-the-scenes world that focused on Dan Schneider’s time as a producer and show runner at Nickelodeon. While also revealing the truth behind who and what Jason Handy, former production assistant for Nickelodeon and Brian Peck, former actor, dialogue coach, and director, did to the children on set.
These child actors ranged from 8-15 years old were “often responsible for the entire economic success of their families,” Scaachi Koul, culture writer for BuzzFeed Canada, said. The show explores issues of race, body shaming and sexual assault.
“I was so excited, but I had no idea what kind of wild ride I was getting into,” said Giovonnie Samuels, cast member of “All That.” “I was the token Black girl, but I didn’t realize how significant that would be till years later.”
Samuels and cast member Bryan Hearne experienced severe emotional trauma and racial abuse from not only Schneider, but other cast members and producers. “Every time I booked a role, I felt like I was one step closer to getting my family out of the hood,” Hearne said. “My time on Nickelodeon played a big part with how I dealt and still deal with racial issues.”
During one of the sketches, he played the youngest rapper of all time, Lil Fetus. They fit him for a body suit that was essentially naked, because it is a fetus and it had to be skin toned.
“Someone said the skin should be charcoal. I started to get teary eyed and whoever was doing my makeup just put a hand on my shoulder and said, ‘don’t worry about it,’” Hearne said.
Hearing these stories broke me. No child should feel humiliated. No child should be so scared they can’t go to their parents and say, “This made me feel really uncomfortable and I don’t want to do this,” out of fear of being fired and not being able to support their family anymore.
These children sacrificed their childhood to improve their families’ lives.
Hearne said, “Yeah, we collected our money, but at what cost?” That comment stuck with me.
Not only did the kids deal with racism, but body shaming as well. Katrina Johnson recalled being shoved aside and replaced by Amanda Bynes because she was “too fat now.” Leon Frierson was forced to dress up as a “Nose Boy” superhero whose costume included noses resembling male genitalia that sneezed on cast members. Frierson was scared to confront Schneider, who thought it was an appropriate joke.
Each episode left a horrible taste in my mouth for Hollywood in general. I didn’t think it could get worse, until the documentary told the story of Jason Handy, the production assistant for Nickelodeon.
Child actor Brandi, 11 years old, at the time, just started acting on “The Amanda Show,” when she was introduced to Handy. “He looked like the all-American boy next door, very charismatic and very charming,” MJ, Brandi’s mom, said.
She found out later he was grooming her daughter and sent an explicit photo of himself to Brandi.
Like so many parents, it was hard for her to ask for help when she was afraid of what Schneider would do. She removed Brandi from acting all together. A year or so later, the L.A. Police contacted MJ regarding “trophies” found in Handy’s house.
Police found 10,000 sexually explicit photos and a journal with a detailed confession.
To think a pedophile worked on a set with an almost entire cast of children and had a stack of evidence against him but was only sentenced to six years in prison, is beyond mind blowing to me. He even admitted to doing these things to young girls in a journal and still that wasn’t enough for a longer sentence?
If the death penalty was good for anything, I would think sexually assaulting small children would be the top of that list. Instead, Handy was let out in 2009. Ten years later he broke the sex offender registry laws and is now serving time till Aug. 28, 2038.
You would think the nightmare of Nickelodeon would be over, but you would be mistaken. Three more pedophiles have been arrested from assaulting child actors or clients. Ezel Channel, Marty Weiss and Brian Peck.
The third and fourth episodes of this documentary were the hardest ones to watch. The moment they show Drake Bell walking out and sitting down to tell his story for the first time.
Brian Peck, a director and dialogue coach on Nickelodeon, was supposed to be a friend and mentor to these children. The children’s parents and colleagues believed he was just a nerdy older guy who loved to make people laugh.
“It was fun to go to Brian’s house. He would have parties with both the parents and kids,” Bell said. “It was just a house you wanted to live in. He seemed like any other nice co-worker.”
Until he wasn’t. Peck convinced Bell that his dad was stealing from him. In response Bell moved in with his mom and told his dad that he didn’t want him to be a part of his career anymore.
Bell was 15 years old. He was spending nights at Brian’s home because it was convenient. “He took me to auditions, tutored me and by the time we would drive back to Orange County it would be 11 at night. So, it just made sense.”
Bell struggled to explain how Peck first assaulted him. “I knew my life would be absolutely different from that point on,” he said.
Peck apologized and swore it wouldn’t happen again, but it just got worse and worse.
“Why don’t you do this,” Bell said. “Why don’t you think of the worse stuff someone could do as a sexual assault and that will answer your questions.”
After six months, Bell told his mother. She called the police, and Bell worked with the police to get Peck’s confession.
Peck was arrested for 11 counts including lewd acts with a minor under 16 years of age.
Peck plead no contest to two charges of child abuse. The judge gave him 16 months in prison and to be added to the sex offender registry.
This happened because he had 41 letters of support from fellow co-workers and friends.
Unfortunately, this was not the end of the horrific nightmare. Since the release of the documentary other child actors have come forward and shared their stories.
As disgusting as it is that we needed a documentary that revealed Hollywood putting child actors at risk with pedophiles, adult humor, racism and other traumas. It has opened a door to hopefully improve the workplace for future generations and change the laws on how America handles pedophiles.
If you or someone you know as been sexually assaulted, please call 1-800-656-4673 the 24-hour crisis line.
