Dan Schneider Is Suing ‘Quiet on Set’ Producers in Wake of Nickelodeon Exposé

Dan Schneider, the former showrunner and creator of some of Nickelodeon’s biggest shows, is suing the producers of the controversial four-part docuseries,  Quiet on Set: The Dark Side of Kids TV, which exposed the abusive and toxic environment on Schnieder’s sets. In a statement shared with USA TODAY Schneider said, “After seeing ‘Quiet on Set ‘and its Trailer, and the reactions to them, I sadly have no choice but to take legal action against the people behind it.” Scheider helmed shows like All That, The Amanda Show, and Drake and Josh. 

The docuseries chronicled female writers who alleged sexism and sexual harassment, workplace toxicity and retaliation from employees, racism child actors say they experienced, and harrowing accounts of sexual abuse child actors say they experienced on the set of shows, though Schneider was not listed as a sexual abuser. 

Schneider, addressed regret in March and admitted in his filing: “At times, he was blind to the pain that some of his behaviors caused certain colleagues, subordinates, and cast members. He will regret and atone for this behavior the rest of his life,” adding, “But one thing he is not—and the one thing that will forever mar his reputation and career both past and present—is a child sexual abuser.”

According to a copy of the lawsuit, he claims the docuseries’ portrayal of him “is a hit job” that implied Schneider “sexually abused the children who worked on his television shows.”

The suit states: “While 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,” the complaint states. “Defendants have destroyed Schneider’s reputation and legacy through the false statements and implications that Schneider is exactly that.”