Kenan Thompson spoke about his time as a child star at Nickelodeon and the new perspective he gained after the release of “Quiet on Set: The Dark Side of Kids TV,” a new docu-series exposing child abuse allegations. Crew members in the network.
Thompson's comments came Wednesday during an interview on the daytime talk show “Tamron Hall,” where he touched on his new production banner AFA, his record-breaking tenure on “Saturday Night Live” and his new memoir “When I Was Your Age.” “Saturday Night Live” airs on NBC, which is owned by NBCUniversal, the parent company of NBC News.
Thompson began as a child actor, though he was an original cast member on the teen sketch show “All That” and starred alongside counterpart Kel Mitchell in the sitcom “Kenan & Kel” and the feature film “Good Burger,” all produced by Nickelodeon. During the interview with Hall, Thompson confirmed that he had not watched Quiet on Set, which includes allegations of abusive behavior against All That producer and Good Burger writer Dan Schneider, who has produced and created several Nickelodeon sitcoms.
The Discovery Investigation docuseries featured several actors and former child stars who alleged that Schneider engaged in inappropriate behavior and created a toxic work environment — including asking female crew members to give him massages and making sexual jokes on set.
“In the face of my past behavior — some of which is embarrassing and I regret — I certainly owe some people a very strong apology,” Schneider said in an interview last week after the premiere of Quiet on Set.
Thompson said he personally never encountered any such behavior while at Nickelodeon.
“It's a difficult subject. It's difficult for me because I can't talk about things I've never seen before. All of this stuff happened after I left, basically.” Dan [Schneider] He wasn't really on “Kenan & Kel” that way. “He got a ‘Created by’ credit, but he was a different model,” Thompson said. “All this kind of negativity is starting to happen outside of our tenure [at Nickelodeon]. I didn't really know much about it, but my heart goes out to anyone who has been a victim, or their families.
“It's good for the doc to come out and show the things that need to be, the stories that need to be told for accountability. But it's definitely hard to watch because I have fond memories of that place,” Thompson continued. “I have fond memories of my co-stars. To hear that they went through terrible things like that, it's really hard.
When Hall continued to say that the talk show had reached out to Nickelodeon and that the network had stated that it was investigating all of the allegations, Thompson interrupted: “Well, investigate further. It's supposed to be a safe space. It's supposed to be a safe place for kids. So hearing all It's like: “How dare you.”
“Quiet on Set” details the alleged treatment of child actors during filming, particularly on Nickelodeon shows of the 1990s and early 2000s.
The series recently announced a fifth episode, which will feature interviews with “The Amanda Show” and “Drake & Josh” star Drake Bell, “All That” cast members Giovonni Samuels and Brianne Hearn, and Hearn's mother, Tracy Brown, as well as new characters. Interviewee, All That cast member Shane Lyons.
