Following the release of the Quiet on Set documentary, former stars of Nickelodeon’s Ned’s Declassified School Survival Guide have apologized for jokes they made about the topic.
With all eyes on former Nickelodeon stars after the release of the true crime documentary, Quiet on Set: The Dark Side of Kids TV, some actors have since had to apologize for tasteless jokes.
Devon Werkheiser, Lindsey Shaw and Daniel Curtis Lee, who all starred on Ned’s Declassified School Survival Guide from 2004-2007, faced backlash when they mocked the recent allegations of abuse taking place at Nickelodeon.
Former stars like Drake Bell appeared in the new documentary, sharing their stories of being child performers for the studio in the early 2000s, and alleging cases of inappropriate behavior, abuse, and more.
The Ned’s Declassified School Survival Guide stars host a regular podcast in which they share stories from the show. They referenced the documentary on a recent TikTok Live stream, making jokes that were interpreted as mocking the abuse allegations. Now, the stars have addressed the backlash in a recent episode of the podcast.
“Earlier this week we were on TikTok Live being asked to comment on the Quiet on Set documentary which we hadn’t seen, and a super sh*t joke came out that was referenced at Daniel and looked like I was talking about Drake and it all overlaps,” Devon Werkheiser said. “We f*cked up, I get it.
Subscribe to our newsletter for the latest updates on Esports, Gaming and more.
“Now having seen the documentary, it’s so disturbing. Now we’ve watched it, I get it. If I had just watched, especially that third episode, and then watched us joking like that, I would be like ‘Are they sociopaths? Is something wrong with them?’”
His co-hosts then jumped in, acknowledging the serious nature of the documentary and allegations that have been coming out in the years since their time on the Nickelodeon show.
“We’ve been screwed over by the business in ways, but what was revealed in that docuseries, this is an urgent matter. Something needs to happen,” Lee said.
“Even considering touching that topic or speaking on it at all now in the mindset we were in is so irresponsible,” added Shaw. “I hate that this happened. I hate that we compounded any trauma around this situation that means so much to each of us, and I am sorry.”
Werkheiser continued: “I put out a f*cking apology immediately. I felt like a piece of sh*t, I know it looks like I’m laughing at this and I f*cking wasn’t, but I know what it looks like. I just felt so f*cking awful knowing Drake saw it in that context.”