Devon Werkheiser, Lindsey Shaw and Daniel Curtis Lee, the stars of mid-aughts sitcom “Ned’s Declassified School Survival Guide,” have apologized for joking about the new documentary “Quiet on Set: The Dark Side of Kids TV,” which features allegations by former child stars detailing widespread abuse at Nickelodeon, in particular involving producer Dan Schneider.
“Earlier this week we were on TikTok Live being asked to comment on the ‘Quiet on Set’ documentary which we hadn’t seen, and a super shit joke came out that was referenced at Daniel and looked like I was talking about Drake and it all overlaps. We fucked up, I get it,” Werkheiser said, speaking on a new episode of the trio’s podcast “Ned’s Declassified Podcast Survival Guide. “Now having seen the documentary, it’s so disturbing. Now we’ve watched it, I get it. If I had just watched, especially that third episode, and then watched us joking like that, I would be like ‘Are they sociopaths? Is something wrong with them?’”
Earlier in the week, Werkheiser had gone on a TikTok Live with Lee and Shaw and adlibbed a joke, saying “Give my your holes.” The line drew criticism, including from fellow Nickelodeon star Drake Bell, who was featured in the documentary. Bell worked with Schneider, while the “Ned’s Declassified” cast did not.
“Ned’s Declassless…this is wild…laugh it up guys…laugh it up…’Give me your h*les?!!’ Really?!” Bell wrote in a post on X, formerly known as Twitter.
Lee and Shaw also joined the discussion on the issue of child abuse in the world of television production.
“We’ve been screwed over by the business in ways, but what was revealed in that docuseries, this is an urgent matter. Something needs to happen,” Lee said.
Shaw added: “Even considering touching that topic or speaking on it at all now in the mindset we were in is so irresponsible.”I hate that this happened. I hate that we compounded any trauma around this situation that means so much to each of us, and I am sorry.”
In the latter half of the podcast, Werkheiser shared that he was watching an interview with Bell about “Quiet on Set” when he saw that Bell had criticized the original TikTok.
“I put out a fucking apology immediately. I felt like a piece of shit,” Werkheiser said “I know it looks like I’m laughing at this and I fucking wasn’t, but I know what it looks like. I just felt so fucking awful knowing Drake saw it in that context.”
The docuseries “Quiet on Set”, which premiered March 17, features Nickelodeon cast and crew who share stories about their on-set experiences working at the network during the late 90’s and early 2000’s, with some alleging cases of sexism, racism and inappropriate behavior.
