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Content warning: This article contains mentions of sexual abuse.

As someone who grew up watching shows like “Victorious,” “Drake and Josh” and “Zoey 101” almost every day after school, watching “Quiet on Set: The Dark Side of Kids TV” was horrifying for me to digest, especially as an adult. The documentary series, which was released in mid-March, exposes Nickelodeon’s exploitative working environment for children and women throughout the 1990s and early 2000s allegedly at the hands of producer Dan Schneider.

The fact that I was entertained and amused as a child while the children on the other side of the screen were being manipulated, abused and exploited was a truth that was almost too hard to bear.

One of the documentary’s most shocking revelations was hearing that actor Drake Bell, who starred in “Drake and Josh” with Josh Peck, had been groomed and sexually assaulted by his dialogue acting coach Brian Peck over the course of several months when he was only 15 years old (Josh and Brian Peck aren’t related).

What was almost as horrifying, however, was how the rest of the world took this news.

While there was a lot of fan support for the victims, I saw that quickly turn into a huge wave of pressure and backlash against other former Nickelodeon actors who hadn’t appeared in the documentary or made an online public statement.

Multiple posts on Josh Peck’s Instagram account, for example, were spammed with hate comments demanding to know why he hadn’t stood by his co-star. Bell quickly had to step in to defend Peck as he was working through his own retraumatization, asking fans to “take it a little easy on him.” Peck eventually released a statement.

Victoria Justice, known for her lead role in “Victorious,” also found the comment section of her recent photos overrun by fans who accused her of taking “hush money” to not speak out against Schneider or the network.

It’s also worth noting that Jamie Lynn Spears, who appeared in “Zoey 101,” limited her comment section. And Rider Strong, who played Shawn Hunter in “Boy Meets World,” turned his comments off completely as the documentary reveals he wrote a letter of support for Bell’s abuser Brian Peck during his court trial in 2004. While it’s not clear if these changes were because of the documentary or when they were made, I don’t think it’s any accident that people are now restricted from interacting with them online.

The pressure on former Nickelodeon actors and actresses has gotten so bad that in response to thousands of people sending him and his family death threats, “Zoey 101” star Matthew Underwood publicly revealed his personal trauma. Underwood told the world that he’d been groomed and molested by a friend’s stepfather when he was 12, then sexually assaulted by his agent when he was 19, causing him to quit acting.

As I’ve been witnessing all of this, I’m not entirely convinced that everyone else watched the same documentary I did. I don’t understand how they can witness the way people have been traumatized by exploitation and violence, only to turn around and project those same attitudes onto others. I understand that it likely comes from a place of protection, this need to support the victims who have spoken out, but it has gone a step too far.

Miranda Fournier | Design Editor

In this age where the entertainment industry is finally reckoning with decades of sexual misconduct, we as the public also need to make sure that we’re holding those accountable who deserve it but with empathy, grace and sensitivity.

After all, the whole point of the documentary was to show how the public rarely knows what’s going on behind the scenes. Yet, there are so many fans relentlessly harassing former child actors without evidence, awareness or tact, who could also be potential survivors and just aren’t ready to speak out. We have no idea what they’re going through or how they’re being re-triggered by this documentary revealing the truth behind a place that was their life for decades. Or maybe all they want to do is move on and never think about it again.

So why are we making assumptions that silence means complicity? Could it not also be the result of fear and trauma, or even a forced gag order?

I do believe that there are moments when people in positions of power have a responsibility to speak up against injustice. But, especially in this context, I don’t believe collective public harassment was necessary as so many of those involved in this case were children without agency, support or protection.

Seeing them now being subjected to this same kind of behavior from the public as adults is nothing short of frustrating and infuriating because it means we haven’t actually learned anything from watching “Quiet on Set: The Dark Side of Kids TV.” We haven’t learned our lesson about what pressure can do to people, how easily we can traumatize others.

Victims, especially women, are often afraid to share their stories because societal attitudes make their experience feel like a point of shame, like it was their fault or even worse, like they won’t be believed. If we’re honest, most people’s reactions to hearing an account of sexual harassment or assault pin the blame on the victim, asking what they did to make the violence happen or encourage the perpetrator.

By treating survivors of sexual violence like they deserved what they got, we not only force them to keep quiet and be afraid of sharing their truths but also allow the wider system to let this kind of behavior continue. We may not be the ones committing the violence but our own actions certainly help make it possible.

Sofia Aguilar is a first-year grad student in the Library and Information Science program. Her column appears weekly. She can be reached at [email protected].

Published on April 8, 2024 at 9:49 pm