Former Victorious star Victoria Justice breaks her silence on Quiet on Set: The Dark Side of Kids TV‘s Dan Schneider allegations. Justice starred in two Schneider-created series during Nickelodeon’s Golden Age: Zoey 101 and Victorious. Recently, the docuseries Quiet on Set launched an investigation into Nickelodeon and Schneider, levying many allegations against the latter, including that he mistreated colleagues and may have included sexual undertones in the children’s shows he created. Since the docuseries, some child stars have chosen to come forward with their own experiences, and Justice is the most recent one to do so.

In an interview with Marie Claire, Justice addressed the allegations against Schneider, which were highlighted in Quiet on Set. While she described her Nickelodeon experience as mostly positive, she admitted there were times when she felt she was “treated unfairly” by Schneider. Justice agreed with the docuseries’ narrative that the creator had a major ego, which fostered his sometimes unfair treatment of other people. Although Justice believes she deserves an apology from Schneider, she also conceded that she felt his apologetic response to the docuseries was genuine. Check out Justice’s statement below:

Something that was very evident in the documentary is that Dan had a very large ego, 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.

I’m not condoning any of his behavior. 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. 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.

Victoria Justice’s Statement Captures Dan Schneider’s Convoluted Legacy

There Have Been Conflicting Accounts Of Schneider’s Behavior

Justice’s mixed feelings about Schneider reflect how his legacy remains fairly convoluted. For one, former Nickelodeon stars may struggle to speak out against the TV show creator because he was often the one who kickstarted their careers and saw their potential. Meanwhile, what he did for some stars might go beyond work opportunities, as Drake Bell acknowledged that Schneider supported him after Brian Peck’s abuse, despite many other celebrities taking Peck’s side. Josh Peck also dismissed allegations against the Nickelodeon creative, chalking his behavior up to him just being a “tough boss.”

Still, the positive or mixed recounts of Schneider don’t dismiss the more concerning allegations in Quiet on Set. The worst allegations come from two female writers on The Amanda Show, Christy Stratton and Jenny Kilgen, who accused Schneider of forcing them to split a salary and behaving inappropriately. Several actors who were minors when working on Schneider’s sets also accused him of bullying and mistreating them. As Justice touched on, though, Schneider did own up to his mistreatment of his co-workers and expressed remorse for his actions.

However, Schneider also filed a defamation lawsuit against Quiet on Set for allegedly insinuating he abused his minor actors. The lawsuit also reiterates the complexity of the allegations against him. In addition to the lack of evidence that the alleged sexual undertones in his shows were intentional, statements like Justice’s acknowledge Schneider seemed to operate in a grey area where his actions may have been “unfair,” but may not actually constitute abuse. The Victorious star’s reflections on Schneider both acknowledge his inexcusable actions as well as the complicated nature of his past behavior.

Source: Marie Claire