The documentary Quiet On Set: The Dark Side of Kids TV has exposed the horrors of working at Nickelodeon, the children’s television channel. Dan Schneider is once again at the center of the controversy, which has rocked the television industry.
The bombshell revelations in a recent documentary highlighted the abuse that the child actors and other staff were subjected to at the height of its popularity between 1990 and the 2010s. Amidst the allegations of racism and p*dophilia, and actors breaking their silence, another possibly damning piece of evidence has come to light.
When Dan Schneider got away with certain jokes
The documentary from Investigation Discovery has opened up a can of worms for Dan Schneider and his crew. Brian Peck was one of them, and the documentary described him as “very much one of the cogs in the Dan Schneider machine” (via Daily Mail).
Peck started as a dialogue coach for the channel, but he was often seen in several shows playing minor roles. He had a recurring role as the ‘Pickle Boy’ on All That, and the documentary shows what Peck got away with.
“Pickle Boy likes to hurt and tease pickles” was his introductory phrase on the show. He appeared in every episode and was often seen interacting with other characters while carrying a tray of pickles. The documentary even showed a clip of Pickle Boy passing a pickle through a hole in the door to another person standing on the other side. Many wondered what was the point of including such bits on a children’s show.
🔥🚨BREAKING: Here is the second episode of documentary that is exposing Nickelodeon for child sex abuse “Quiet on Set.” This Episode is finally diving into Dan Schindler and the way he implemented ‘pedophile culture’ into Nickelodeon and a continuation on Amanda Bynes. pic.twitter.com/Hovqrz98px
— Dom Lucre | Breaker of Narratives (@dom_lucre) March 19, 2024
“This is a children’s television show; why is this in the show? What is the joke here, exactly? There is this weird element that they were all able to pull a fast one and get away with it,” says Kyle Sullivan, an actor who appeared on the show.
The pickles looked like p*nises, but the cast just went with it since it was a Dan Schneider show. He eventually left the channel in 2018 after an investigation was conducted. According to a report by The New York Times, the investigation ruled that while no evidence pointed towards s*xual misconduct, he was verbally abusive, which the producer denied vehemently.
Brian Peck’s truth came to light
The truth about Peck has come tumbling out. He was allegedly the pen pal of John Wayne Gacy, who was sent to prison on charges of murdering 33 young men and boys between 1972 and 1978.
In August of 2003, an unnamed child actor leveled charges of s*xual abuse against Brian Peck, documenting nearly a dozen incidents. At the time, Peck had pleaded no contest and was consequently sentenced to 16 months in prison. Moreover, he also had to register as a s*x offender in 2004.
In the documentary, former star Drake Bell revealed that he was the anonymous victim of Peck’s abuse. He confessed that he was also s*xually assaulted by Peck.
Dan Schneider was at the head of Nickelodeon at the time. This Discovery documentary will hopefully raise more awareness about the abuse that child actors have to endure and come up with solutions to combat it.
