After a barrage of backlash against Quiet on Set, the blockbuster docuseries aimed at exposing abuse and misconduct at the kids’ network Nickelodeon, former network stalwart Dan Schneider is suing producers of the Investigation Discovery project, along with Warner Bros Discovery, Maxine Productions, and Sony Pictures Television, for defamation.
In a lawsuit filed on Wednesday in Los Angeles Superior Court and obtained by Vanity Fair, Schneider refers to the series as a “hit job” and says he “had no knowledge of” sexual abuse happening on any of his Nickelodeon shows. The filing also states that Schneider “was not complicit in the abuse, condemned the abuse once it was discovered and, critically, was not a child sexual abuser himself.”
Quiet on Set details the convictions of two men who worked on such series—vocal coach Brian Peck, who in October 2004 was sentenced to 16 months in prison after being convicted on sexual abuse charges against former Nickelodeon actor Drake Bell and ordered to register as a sex offender—and Jason Handy, a production assistant who pleaded “no contest” to lewd acts on a child and the distribution of sexually explicit material in 2004, tied to his actions against two underage girls on Nickelodeon shows. Handy served six years in prison and registered as a convicted sex offender.
The suit goes on to claim that “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.” VF has reached out to Investigation Discovery for comment.
Schneider’s lawsuit pinpoints certain footage used within Quiet on Set and the series’ trailer as being “purposefully 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—and have been interpreted as such by countless average, ordinary or reasonable viewers.” The producer is seeking unspecified damages and a court order forcing producers to remove allegedly defamatory portions of the docuseries or have it completely taken down, as well as a trial.
In a statement to Vanity Fair, Schneider says that although the series “highlighted mistakes I made and poor judgment I exhibited during my time at Nickelodeon” and that “there is no doubt that I was sometimes a bad leader,” after “seeing Quiet on Set and its trailer, and the reactions to them, I sadly have no choice but to take legal action against the people behind it.” He concludes, “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.”
The initial aftermath of Quiet on Set, in which participants speak to a toxic work culture led by Schneider on series like All That and The Amanda Show, led the producer to post an apology video regarding some of the allegations of racism and sexism against him. “The main thing that I would change is how I treat people and everyone,” Schneider said in the video. I definitely at times didn’t give people the best of me. I didn’t show enough patience. I could be cocky and definitely over-ambitious, and sometimes just straight up rude and obnoxious, and I’m so sorry that I ever was.” In a statement, Schneider previously told VF that he “would absolutely do some things differently. I’ve learned a lot over the years about how to be a better boss.”