Kenan Thompson has spoken out following the bombshell documentary “Quiet on Set: The Dark Side of Kids TV.”
The five-part eye-opening doc focuses on Nickelodeon producer Dan Schneider and features a behind-the-scenes look at his inappropriate behavior with child stars such as Alexa Nikolas, Drake Bell and more in the late ’90s and early 2000s.
The “Saturday Night Live” comedian, 45, who starred on the network’s “All That” and “Kenan & Kel,” opened up about the allegations and Schneider, 45, on the Tamron Hall Show.
“It’s tough. It’s a tough subject, you know?” Thompson said on Wednesday. “It’s tough for me because I can’t really speak on things that I never witnessed, you know what I’m saying? Because all these things happened after I left, basically.”
He continued: “Dan wasn’t really on ‘Kenan & Kel’ like that.”
“I mean, he got a ‘created by’ credit, but it was a different showrunner, so our worlds wasn’t really overly overlapping like that outside of ‘All That,’ necessarily. And then all of that negativity kinda started happening outside of our tenure there, you know what I mean? So I wasn’t really aware of a lot of it.”
Schneider was a screenwriter for several “Kenan & Ken” episodes, also producing the kids sketch comedy series “All That.”
The Schneider’s Bakery founder also wrote Thompson’s film “Good Burger,” which was released in 1997.
The “Fat Albert” actor then sent a message to his Nickelodeon peers who opened about the hostile work environment they felt Schneider created while working for the network.
“My heart goes out to anybody that’s been victimized, or their families,” he said on the talk show.
“I think it’s a good thing that the doc is out and it’s putting things on display, stories that need to be told for accountability’s sake,” he continued. “But it’s definitely tough to watch because I have fond memories of that place and I have fond memories of my costars and stuff like that.”
“So to hear that they’ve gone through terrible things like that is really tough.”
He then suggested that Hollywood executives should “investigate more” and create “a safe place for kids.”
“And to hear all about that is just like, ‘How dare you?’” Thompson concluded.
“Quiet on Set” also includes Bell’s claims that he was sexually abused by voice coach Brian Peck.
Nickelodeon released a statement after Bell’s episode aired.
“Now that Drake Bell has disclosed his identity as the plaintiff in the 2004 case, we are dismayed and saddened to learn of the trauma he has endured, and we commend and support the strength required to come forward,” the network said in a statement obtained by Variety.
“Though we cannot corroborate or negate allegations of behaviors from productions decades ago, Nickelodeon as a matter of policy investigates all formal complaints as part of our commitment to fostering a safe and professional workplace environment free of harassment or other kinds of inappropriate conduct,” it continued.
“Our highest priorities are the well-being and best interests not just of our employees, casts and crew, but of all children, and we have adopted numerous safeguards over the years to help ensure we are living up to our own high standards and the expectations of our audience.”
Bell, however, called the apology “pretty empty.”
“There’s a very well-tailored response saying, ‘Learning about his trauma,’ because they couldn’t say that they didn’t know about this or what had happened, or anything,” Bell, 37, said during an appearance on the “The Sarah Fraser Show” podcast. “So I think that was a really well-tailored response by probably some big attorney in Hollywood.”
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Samantha Ibrahim
