Former Nickelodeon star Victoria Justice demands apology from Dan Schneider
Nickelodeon star Victoria Justice recently shared insights into her "complex" relationship with Dan Schneider, the creator of the popular series Victorious and Zoey 101. Justice starred in both shows. In an interview with Marie Claire, she revealed feeling unfairly treated by Schneider during her time on the projects and mentioned his "large ego." This comes a few weeks after the premiere of the docu-series Quiet on Set: The Dark Side of Kids TV.
Justice's comments follow misconduct allegations against Schneider
For the unversed, the documentary highlighted numerous misconduct allegations against Schneider from his Nickelodeon days. The series included clips from Victorious, where Schneider was accused of making young actors perform inappropriate actions on camera. Justice referred to moments with Schneider as being "in poor taste," but clarified that nothing sexual ever transpired. She added, "[His ego] clouded his better judgment and affected the way he treated people, and there were times I felt like I was being treated unfairly."
Justice also acknowledged Schneider's role in her career
After the doucmentary went live, Schneider had said that he owed some people an apology. Reacting to this, Justice said, "I would say I'm definitely one of the people on that list." "I'm not condoning any of his behavior." "At the end of the day, my relationship with Dan is a very complex one: I met him when I was 12 years old, and he's the person that gave me this big break. He completely changed my life."
Other Nickelodeon alumni accused Schneider of misconduct
In addition to Justice's comments, other Nickelodeon alumni have also made allegations against Schneider. Lori Beth Denberg from All That recently claimed that Schneider showed her pornography and initiated phone sex. However, Schneider has denied these allegations, describing them as "wildly exaggerated and, in most cases, false." He admitted to have "made mistakes and exhibited poor judgement as a leader" and offered an apology if he had done so with respect to Denberg.
Schneider's significant role in Nickelodeon's success
Schneider was instrumental in Nickelodeon's rise to prominence during the 1990s and 2000s. He contributed to popular shows such as All That, The Amanda Show, Kenan & Kel, Zoey 101, iCarly, and Victorious. Despite parting ways with Nickelodeon in 2018, Schneider is prominently featured in the recent documentary series, which premiered on the true crime cable channel ID in March and is now available for streaming on Max. In India, one can watch it on Discovery+.
