" I reported him to the federal agency and he has since been fired — although he is still active in the diligence . "
Note : This spot mentions sexual assault .
Zoey 101star Matthew Underwood opened up about the reason he quit acting.
He joins a number of former child actors who’vespoken outsince the premiere ofQuiet on Set: The Dark Side of Kids TV,which exposed the allegedlytoxic and abusiveculture at Nickelodeon. The docuseries largely centered on Dan Schneider, who created hit shows likeThe Amanda ShowandDrake & Josh.
In anInstagrampost, Matthew wrote, “When I was 19, I was sexually harassed and then assaulted by my agent at the time, who had spent a decent amount of time building trust with me as a friend and mentor.”
“My trust was betrayed and my self-image was crushed. I reported him to the agency and he has since been fired — although he is still active in the industry. This experience provoked my move away from LA and ended my pursuit of acting.”
The 33-year-old shared that people have been “blowing up” his email and sending hateful messages because he did not speak out in the weeks followingQuiet on Set.
“I imagine many of my friends in the business are being equally harassed if they aren’t joining in the chorus. So I’m sharing this with hope that some of you can recognize that just because a person doesn’t shout from the rooftops that pedophiles are bad or that people can suck — that does not mean they don’t have their own reasons for staying silent, good reasons, personal reasons.”
Matthew, who played Logan Reese onZoey 101from 2005 to 2008, recalled a different experience than many others in the docuseries. “I never had a bad experience working on set of a Nickelodeon show, and I never had a bad experience with Dan,” he wrote. “I have nothing to add to the conversation that anyone would care to hear. I like to believe people have the capacity to be better humans, and Dan appears to recognize that he had been an asshole in his past. I like to believe he is fully capable of being a creator and coworker everyone can enjoy working with.”
“Please stop wishing death upon my family, and please reconsider harassing other actors who wish to maintain their privacy — you never know who has already been a victim of the hell you’re wishing upon them,” he concluded.
In the caption, he wrote, “We all want to live in a better world. That requires all of us to treat each other with empathy and not make assumptions about people’s personal experiences. We’re all feeling pain right now, and I can understand if you are angry, but harassing people who maintain their privacy and wishing death upon their families is no way to make this world better and safer for all of us. #QuietOnSet.”
Nickelodeon released a statement to BuzzFeed regarding alleged behavior on past production sets:
" Though we can not confirm or negate allegations of behaviour from productions decades ago , Nickelodeon as a matter of policy investigates all conventional complaints as part of our loyalty to fostering a dependable and professional workplace environment free of torment or other sort of inappropriate behaviour . Our highest anteriority are the well - being and best sake not just of our employees , cast of characters and crew , but of all youngster , and we have adopted numerous safeguards over the years to assist assure we are living up to our own high standard and the first moment of our consultation . "
If you or someone you know has experience sexual assault , you could call theNational Sexual Assault Hotlineat 1 - 800 - 656 - HOPE ( 4673 ) , which rout the company to their nearest intimate ravishment service provider . you’re able to also research for your local centerhere . If you are interested that a tyke is experiencing or may be in danger of abuse , you’re able to call or text theNational Child Abuse Hotlineat 1 - 800 - 422 - 4453 ( 4.A.CHILD ) ; armed service can be offer in over 140 words .
