Kenan Thompson urges Nickelodeon to ‘investigate more’ the abuse allegations exposed in ‘Quiet on Set’ documentary
"Quiet on Set: The Dark Side Of Kids TV" will air a bonus episode, "Breaking the Silence," on April 7 on Investigation Discovery. Â
Kenan Thompson shared his perspective about the “Quiet on Set: The Dark Side of Kids TV” documentary in an interview with Tamron Hall on her show Wednesday.
“It’s a tough subject. It’s tough for me because I can’t really speak on things that I never witnessed,” Thompson said on the talk show, according to Entertainment Weekly. “All these things happened after I left, basically. Dan [Schneider] wasn’t really on ‘Kenan & Kel’ like that. He got a ‘created by’ credit, but it was a different showrunner.”
While there, he also highlighted his new production company, Artists for Artists, and his long-running tenure on “Saturday Night Live,” plus promoted his new memoir, “When I Was Your Age: Life Lessons, Funny Stories & Questionable Parenting Advice From a Professional Clown.”
Thompson began his career as a young actor and comedian on Nickelodeon’s teenage sketch show, “All That.” He then starred in the sitcom “Kenan & Kel” alongside castmate Kel Mitchell. The two eventually became leads in the feature film “Good Burger,” which was also produced by Nickelodeon.
The “Quiet on Set: The Dark Side of Kids TV” is a five-part docuseries that exposes the toxic work environment and details the allegations of on-set abuse and mistreatment from children’s TV producer Dan Schneider. Schneider is responsible for producing a variety of Nickelodeon kid shows, including “Drake & Josh,” “iCarly,” “Victorious,” “All That,” “The Amanda Show,” “Kenan & Kel” and many others that aired in the ’90s and early ’00s.
“It’s a good thing that the doc is out, and it’s putting things on display that need to be, stories that need to be told for accountability’s sake,” Thompson told Hall. “But it’s definitely tough to watch because I have fond memories of that place. I have fond memories of my co-stars. To hear that they’ve gone through terrible things like that, it’s really tough.”
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Thompson said that he had not watched the documentary, but he extended his love and support for the victims it features.
“All that negativity kind of started happening outside of our tenure [at Nickelodeon],” he continued. “I wasn’t really aware of a lot of it, but my heart goes out to anyone that’s been victimized or their families.”
“Quiet on Set: The Dark Side of Kids TV” will air a fifth bonus episode, “Breaking the Silence,” on Sunday, April 7, on Investigation Discovery.
During their conversation, Hall mentioned that her team reached out to Nickelodeon for a comment stating that the network was investigating all allegations. Thompson chimed in, urging Nickelodeon to do its due diligence.
“Well, investigate more,” Thompson said. “It’s supposed to be a safe space. It’s supposed to be a safe place for kids. So to hear all that is like, ‘How dare you.'”
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