Victoria Justice, who headlined Nickelodeon’s popular series “Victorious” for four seasons and 57 episodes between 2010 and 2013, said in a new interview with Marie Claire that she feels like series creator Dan Schneider owes her an apology as she was “treated unfairly” at times on the show. Schneider also created the series “Zoey 101,” which Justice appeared on prior to “Victorious.”
Schnieder has come under fire this year in the wake of the Investigation Discovery series “Quiet on Set: The Dark Side of Kids TV,”which included many misconduct allegations against him from his tenure at Nickelodeon. Clips from “Victorious” were heavily featured in the documentary as Schnieder was accused of making his young actors do inappropriate things on camera. Justice starred in the show alongside Ariana Grande, Elizabeth Gillies and more.
“Something that was very evident in the documentary is that Dan had a very large ego,” Justice toldMarie Claire. “And sometimes that ego clouded his better judgment and affected the way he treated people, and there were times I felt like I was being treated unfairly.”
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Justice did not go into details but did say she had moments with Schneider that “were in poor taste,” although nothing ever sexual happened between them. Schneider admitted following the release of “Quiet on Set” that he did owe some people an apology, to which Justice said: “I would say I’m definitely one of the people on that list.”
According to Justice, she has not been in contact with Schneider since the end of her time at Nickelodeon aside from a few “Zoey 101” and “Victorious” reunion appearances.
“I’m not condoning any of his behavior,” Justice said. “At the end of the day, my relationship with Dan is a very complex one: I met him when I was 12 years old, and he’s the person that gave me this big break. He completely changed my life.”
“Most likely I wouldn’t be here where I am today if it weren’t for him, and for him seeing something in me,” she added. “For that I will always be grateful. After watching his apology, I think he recognizes that he did a lot of things wrong, and I think if he could step back into a time machine, he would do a lot of things differently.”
Just this week, “All That” cast member Lori Beth Denberg came forward with new allegations against Schneider. She alleged to Business Insiderthat Schneider showed her pornography when she was a teenager and initiated phone sex with her. Denberg also recounted a time when Schneider allegedly touched and put his mouth on her breasts.
Schneiderissued a statement to PvNewin which he called Denberg’s accusations “wildly exaggerated and, in most cases, false,” adding: “As I have previously stated, there were times, particularly in the early years of my career, that I made mistakes and exhibited poor judgment as a leader. If I did that with respect to Lori Beth, I sincerely apologize to her. But I cannot apologize for things I did not do.”
Head over to Marie Claire’s website to read Justice’s latest interview in its entirety.
