Dan Schneider Abuse Allegations

Overview

Dan Schneider Abuse Allegations refers to the claims of misconduct accusations levied at Dan Schneider, an American actor, producer and screenwriter best known for creating and working on various Nickelodeon TV shows such as The Amanda Show, Drake and Josh, Zoey 101, iCarly, Victorious, Sam & Cat, Henry Danger, Game Shakers and The Adventures of Kid Danger. On March 26th, 2018, Nickelodeon announced that they had parted ways with Schneider. Throughout the 2010s and 2020s, Schneider faced numerous allegations and rumors of being a pedophile and foot fetishist, including by actress Jennette McCurdy, whom he worked with on iCarly and Sam & Cat. In 2024, a documentary about the allegations against Schneider called Quiet On Set premiered on Max, causing a resurgence in discussions and memes referencing him and the accusations.

Background

Prior to his 2018 exit from Nickelodeon, Dan Schneider was the subject of myriad rumors and salacious allegations from online users due in large part to the content of his programs.

Speculation about Schneider being a pedophile based on the perceived sexualization of the young female characters in his shows can be found online as early as 2010. Many of these also claim he has a foot fetish, as foot-based humor is a common occurrence in his shows.

For example, on March 26th, 2010, a user of 4chan's /tv/^[1] board made a post with a photo of Miranda Cosgrove and Jennette McCurdy from iCarly showing their bare feet (seen below), writing, "When do you think Dan Schneider, creator of iCarly, is going to get arrested for something involving a minor?" In 2011, a NeoGaf^[2] user speculated that Schneider was a pedophile, receiving some pushback from other users at the time.

Jamie Lynn Spears Baby Daddy Conspiracy Theory

In December 2007, 16-year-old Jamie Lynn Spears, star of Schneider's show Zoey 101 and sister of Britney Spears, got pregnant. In January 2008, Today^[8] reported that the baby's father, Casey Aldridge, left her after demanding a paternity test, not believing the baby was his.

On February 18th, 2009, Stuff^[9] reported that, according to Star magazine, a source close to the family told the magazine that the real father is a "much older executive at her children's TV show Zoey 101."

On May 25th, 2017, Twitter^[10] user @totoxxyyxxremix posted a thread sharing a breakdown of the conspiracy theory, writing, "Dan Schneider is Jamie Lynn Spears' baby daddy: a conspiracy theory thread."

Various content creators have also covered the theory over the years. For example, YouTuber SLOAN posted a video on the subject on March 25th, 2021, receiving over 737,000 views and 19,000 likes in three years (shown below).

Jennette McCurdy Allegations

Actress Jennette McCurdy, who appeared as the character Sam in Schneider's shows iCarly and Sam & Cat, has allegedly implied and inferred several times that Schneider abused her as a child.

On June 23rd, 2013, YouTuber Rute Santos posted a collection of McCurdy's Vines, including one (at the 00:36-second mark, seen below) in which she is shown with messy hair and makeup saying Schneider's name, then, "look what you've done to me." The next Vine shows McCurdy showcasing several bruises on her body. These are often seen as McCurdy implying that Scheider is abusing her, although this is unconfirmed. On October 6th, a NeoGaf^[4] user posted a thread titled, "Let's talk about Nickelodeon's Dan Schnieder," in which they discussed the rumors.

On March 26th, 2018, Nickelodeon then announced it had parted ways with Dan Schneider. Deadline^[11] reported that there were rumors of Schneider's abusive behavior towards young talent on his shows, including sexualization of young actresses and a hot temper.

Developments

On June 10th, 2019, Jennette McCurdy posted a clip from her "loosely autobiographical" short film about "a child actress raised in a dysfunctional Mormon family," titled, he touched me. In the clip, a child actor cries and says to the camera, "he touched me," multiple times to her mother. It is then revealed that the girl is an actress filming a scene. The video gained over 1.5 million views in three months (shown below). Some people believe the child represents McCurdy and is a covert way of alleging abuse, potentially towards Schneider, although this is unconfirmed.

On August 3rd, 2022, the New York Times^[5] published an article titled, "Jennette McCurdy Is Ready to Move Forward, and to Look Back," wherein they discussed McCurdy's memoir I'm Glad My Mom Died, released on August 9th of that year. A section of the article stated that "McCurdy endured various embarrassments and indignities at Nickelodeon," such as "being photographed in a bikini at a wardrobe fitting and being encouraged to drink alcohol," by someone she called "the Creator."

Many subsequently assumed "the Creator" was Dan Schneider. The article went on to blame McCurdy's mother, Debra, for not intervening in the situation and many others, reportedly instructing McCurdy that "this was the price of showbiz success." Also in the article, the NYT surfaced information that McCurdy had allegedly been offered $300,000 to stay quiet about her experiences at Nickelodeon. The accusation inspired a viral discussion and debate online that continued into August 2022.

Foot Fetish Accusations

Schneider is often accused of having a foot fetish based on the amount of foot-related jokes in his TV shows and several posts to social media asking for people to send him pictures of feet. For example, in 2013, he tweeted through the Sam & Cat Twitter page asking for viewers to write #SAMandCATSaturday on their foot then take a picture and send it to him for a retweet (shown below).

On March 6th, 2013, a now-deleted Redditor commented on a post about Schneider to /r/todayilearned,^[3] writing, "I grew up in LA and was an extra on the Amanda show a few times. He paid me 100 bucks once just to tickle my feet." She elaborated in another comment, writing:

To make a weird story short. In between takes Dan asked me if I was ticklish and I said no, then he bet me 100 bucks he could make me ticklish. I was expecting him to reach over and tickle me under my arm or something like that but he led me to his office. I basically got paid to receive a foot massage and a lot of compliments.

Schneider's alleged foot fetish became a common reference in memes about Schneider throughout the 2010s (examples shown below).

On June 30th, 2021, Schneider denied having a foot fetish in an interview published by the New York Times,^[6] claiming, "Kids find feet goofy and funny and there was no effort to sexualize his young stars," saying the comedy "was totally innocent."

Coverage on YouTube

Numerous notable YouTube videos have been uploaded compiling alleged evidence against Schneider. On August 18th, 2018, YouTuber blameitonjorge posted a video about the rumors, offering examples of his foot fetishism and inappropriate jokes and interactions with young actors, garnering over 7.2 million views in four years (shown below, left). On February 15th, 2021, YouTuber Slander Tea posted an eight-minute-long compilation of Schneider acting perceivably creepy, including problematic scenes from his shows, earning over 800,000 views in a year (shown below, right).

On December 18th, 2020, drama YouTuber SLO4N posted a video exposing Schneider. At the 27:10-minute mark, he covers several tweets from Amanda Bynes' private Twitter account, @PersianLa27, where she indirectly accuses Schneider of acting inappropriately towards her, including a tweet that reads, "One man in particular took hundreds of photos of my feet. I was only 13. And one of the main reasons why I may never be able to get pregnant" (shown below). In another tweet, she writes, "Harvey Weinstein? Didn't you mean, Dan Schneider? No? Oh, okay."

Quiet On Set Documentary

On March 18th, 2024, Max (formerly HBO) released the first half of a documentary series on Dan Schneider's abuses of the talent on Nickelodeon called Quiet On Set: The Dark Side of Kids' TV (trailer seen below).^[12] The series goes into multiple allegations of the abusive habits and tics of Schneider's show-running, including:

1. Scenes that have been compared to pornographic content, such as having young actresses get sprayed with viscous goo, which reportedly made the actresses feel uncomfortable.
2. Including sexual puns and gags, such as the Amanda Show character "Penelope Taynt" and the All That character "Pickle Boy."
3. Overworking actors and writers to the point of exhaustion.
4. Forcing writers to watch pornography.

After the first half of the documentary series aired in March 2024, a spokesperson for Schneider defended the claims made against him,^[12] writing:

“Everything that happened on the shows Dan ran was carefully scrutinized by dozens of involved adults, and approved by the network. Had there been any scenes or outfits that were inappropriate in any way, they would have been flagged and blocked by this multilayered scrutiny… Remember, all stories, dialogue, costumes, and makeup were fully approved by network executives on two coasts. A standards and practices group read and ultimately approved every script, and programming executives reviewed and approved all episodes. In addition, every day on every set, there were always parents and caregivers and their friends watching filming and rehearsals.”

All That Cast Child Abuse

A separate section of the documentary goes into the pedophilic behavior of All That cast members, including James Hardy and "Pickle Boy" actor Brian Peck. Hardy was found guilty of child abuse and child pornography in 2004 for his inappropriate behavior with an Amanda Show guest star identified as "Brandi." Drake and Josh actor Drake Bell alleges that Brian Peck, his dialogue coach, subjected him to extensive sexual abuse. Peck was found guilty of child rape in 2004.

Ned's Declassified Cast Reaction

In a TikTok Live following the release of the documentary in mid-March 2024, the cast of Ned's Declassified School Survival Guide was seen joking about the documentary, including a joke about child rape.^[13] They also said their experience on the set of their show did not match what was portrayed in the documentary. The Live went viral on social media, with many condemning the frivolous nature with which the cast discussed the allegations in the documentary. On March 19th, 2024, Drake Bell responded in a tweet calling them "Ned's Declassless" (shown below).

Search Interest

External References