Nickelodeon has a bad history with tolerating sexually abusive behavior in its employees. This is unacceptable for any company, let alone one that produces content for children. Nickelodeon needs to take accountability for putting its child actors in danger.

“Quiet on Set: The Dark Side of Kids TV,” a recently released mini docuseries, covers the toxic culture behind many iconic Nickelodeon shows.

Brian Peck, who was a voice coach and actor for Nickelodeon, served 16 months in prison for sexually assaulting two child stars. He served as the dialogue coach for “All That” in addition to various acting roles (he provided the voiceover for the show’s “Know Your Stars” segment). A 2002 LA Times piece on child stardom also said that the cast of “All That” had to attend a “two-week comedy boot camp” with Dan Schneider and Brian Peck. Peck was convicted of two counts in a case brought against him by an underage actor whose family had hired him as an acting coach. Per the Daily Mail, “Peck had been coaching the youngster in acting at his home when the offenses happened and was only arrested after the budding actor’s parents reported him to police.” 

After his time was served he was able to return to his job at Nickelodeon without a second thought. Nickelodeon also has endured years of working with Dan Schneider, who has been accused of predatory and fetishistic activities with many of the young stars. The horror doesn't stop here. Below is a list of producers and directors who have been accused and convicted of sexual exploitation of children.

John Kricfalusi, the creator of “The Ren & Stimpy Show,” was accused by two women of sexually abusing them when they were in their teens. He admitted to dating underage girls.

“Loud House” creator Chris Savino was fired by the network in 2017 following sexual harassment allegations by a dozen women who had worked with him.

Martin Weiss, a talent agent for kid actors who worked on Nickelodeon and Disney shows, pled no contest to two charges of oral copulation on a child under 14 after one of his clients told police that Weiss had sexually assaulted him 30-40 times over a two-year period beginning when the child was 11 years old.

A Nickelodeon production assistant named Jason Michael Handy used his position to get the email addresses and phone numbers of children on set and began sexually exploiting at least two young girls. Per LA Times reporting, “Court testimony revealed that during the taping of the TV series Cousin Skeeter, Handy befriended a 9-year-old girl and began visiting her at her home. On one occasion, while playing video games in her bedroom, he repeatedly kissed her, she told the court. He also emailed naked photos of himself to an 11-year-old child he met on the set of another program, ‘The Amanda Show,’ according to her testimony.”

Ezel Ethan Channel, a temporary production assistant at Nickelodeon Animation Studio, was arrested for molesting a 14-year-old boy after inviting him on a tour of the studio.

It is clear to see that Nickelodeon needs to take immediate action to prevent further abuse. 

We still need to turn our attention to helping the most vulnerable in our society from the predatory monsters who are given positions of power. Tell Nickelodeon to immediately dismiss individuals with a past history of abusive behavior and to implement thorough background checks on new employees. Also provide child actors with resources to report abuse.  

Hopefully this petition will bring more awareness to this issue and give courage to the actors in the past who have been abused to speak out.

Sources

https://adri.substack.com/p/what-we-dont-talk-about-when-we-talk

https://celebrityinsider.org/some-question-abcs-and-disneys-willingness-to-work-with-registered-sex-offenders-and-pedophiles-after-immediately-canceling-roseanne-152501/

https://news.sky.com/story/former-child-actors-reveal-sexual-abuse-in-hollywood-11110821

https://www.nupoliticalreview.com/2019/05/14/the-metoo-movement-has-left-child-actors-behind/