Dan Schneider Sues ‘Quiet on Set’ for Defamation
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Former Nickelodeon showrunner Dan Schneider has filed a defamation lawsuit over Investigation Discovery’s bombshell docuseries, Quiet on Set: The Dark Side of Kids TV.
The five-part docuseries aired earlier this year and featured many former child actors sharing allegations of abuse and misconduct while they worked on several wildly popular Nickelodeon shows during the Nineties and 2000s. Schneider created and oversaw many of these shows, and the docuseries included various claims against him, including gender discrimination, overlooking actors of colors, making inappropriate jokes, and asking employees for massages. (Schneider addressed these claims in an apology released after the show aired.)
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While Quiet on Set did include allegations tied to two convicted sex offenders who worked on some of these programs, Brian Peck and Jason Handy, no such allegations have ever been leveled against Schneider. However, his new lawsuit obtained by Rolling Stone argues that Quiet on Set and its trailer were “purposely and intentionally defamatory in that they falsely and repeatedly state or imply that Schneider is a child sexual abuser and committed crimes in this regard.”
The suit calls the docuseries’ portrayal of Schneider a “hit job,” adding: “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. But for the sake of clickbait, ratings, and views — or put differently, money — Defendants have destroyed Schneider’s reputation and legacy through the false statements and implications that Schneider is exactly that.”
In a statement, Schneider said, “In their successful attempt to mislead viewers and increase ratings, they went beyond reporting the truth and falsely implied that I was involved in or facilitated horrific crimes for which actual child predators have been prosecuted and convicted. I have no objection to anyone highlighting my failures as a boss, but it is wrong to mislead millions of people to the false conclusion that I was in any way involved in heinous acts like those committed by child predators. I owe it to myself, my family, and the many wonderful people involved in making these shows to set the record straight.”
A rep for Quiet on Set did not immediately return Rolling Stone’s request for comment.
Schneider’s lawsuit outlines several alleged ways both Quiet on Set and its trailer created the false impression that he’d been accused of sexual abuse. For instance, it notes that, during the first 100 seconds of the trailer, the “only person mentioned by name” is Schneider, while “variations of his likeness” appear “ten times.” The suit goes on to note that a voiceover in the trailer describes “a litany of horrific sexual crimes against children,” allegedly intended to get the audience to ask “who committed these crimes.”
The lawsuit claims: “With only Schneider’s name and likeness offered, the implication is clear: It was Schneider. Again, this is false.”
Per the suit, Episode One of Quiet on Set picks up where the trailer left off, focusing primarily on Schneider and then ending with a news clip about police officers arresting a suspected child predator, who is neither named nor shown. While the lawsuit acknowledges that Episode Two does delve into the stories of Peck and Handy, the suit argues that Episode One “wholly obfuscates the reality by focusing on Schneider — and only Schneider — while providing the viewer with no information to conclude that the predator was anyone other than Schneider.”
Elsewhere, Schneider’s lawyers accuse the makers of Quiet on Set of “manipulative” editing and photographs that “conflate Schneider” with Peck and “exaggerates the relationship” between the two. Noting that Schneider denies the docuseries’ claim that Peck “worked closely with” him and that Peck was “very much one of the cogs in the Dan Schneider Machine,” the suit states: “Schneider was not complicit in Peck’s crimes, was unaware of Peck’s crimes until that information was made a matter of public record, and Schneider did not commit any such crimes himself.”
In arguing that Quiet on Set harmed Schneider’s reputation and created a false impression of him among viewers, the lawsuit listed numerous YouTube comments and social media posts: These include: “DAN SCHNEIDER – HARVEY WEINSTEIN – JEFFREY EPSTEIN – BILL COSBY – The Mount Rushmore of Sexual Abuse. JOSH PECK can serve as Tour Guide”; “He’s gross what a sick predator”; “Dan ‘Get in the van’ Schneider”; and “I hope that Dan Schneider goes down just like R-Kelly and Harvey after their docuseries.”
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