Dan Schneider Finally Apologizes After Disturbing ‘Quiet On Set’ Accusations: “There’s Definitely Things That I Would Do Differently”

A day after the release of the last two parts of the four-part docuseries, Quiet On Set: The Dark Side of Kids TV, Dan Schneider has opened up about the startling claims made about him.

In a YouTube video posted on Tuesday, Schneider spoke with BooG!E — who iCarly fans would recognize for playing T-Bo on the Nickelodeon series — about the documentary, lamenting that “watching over the past two nights was very difficult,” per Deadline.

“Me facing my past behaviors, some of which are embarrassing and I regret,” he continues. “And I definitely owe some people a pretty strong apology.”

During his conversation with BooG!E, Schneider addresses various claims, including requesting massages from people on set. He confesses that “it was wrong that [he] ever put anybody in that position,” and while he “would never do it today,” he’s “embarrassed that [he] did it then.”

“I apologize to anybody that I ever put in that situation,” he adds. “And even additionally, I apologize to the people who were walking around video village, or wherever they happened, because there were lots of people there who witnessed it who also may have felt uncomfortable, so I owe them an apology as well.”

He also expresses guilt surrounding the “inappropriate jokes,” topics, and pranks that transpired in the writer’s room, noting that “no writer should ever feel uncomfortable in any writers room, ever.”

In terms of the jokes that ended up in his long list of children’s TV titles, he clarifies, “All these jokes that you’re speaking of that the show covered over the past two nights, every one of those jokes was written for a kid audience, because kids thought they were funny, and only funny.”

“Now, we have some adults looking back at them 20 years later through their lens and they’re looking at them and they’re saying, ‘You know, I don’t think that’s appropriate for a kid’s show,” he continues. “And I have no problem with that. If that’s how anyone feels, let’s cut those jokes out of the show, just like I would have done 20 years ago, or 25 years ago.”

He did allege that “the notion that [he] had the power to just produce whatever [he] wanted and have it air is completely false,” noting that there were “many, many levels of scrutiny,” as well as “executives” in both Los Angeles and New York — which was also iterated in a statement from his spokesperson to The Hollywood Reporter on Monday (March 18) — involved in “approval at every stage.”

Schneider opens up about Drake Bell identifying himself as a sexual abuse victim of Brian Peck, the dialogue coach hit with 16 months of jail time for child sexual abuse in 2004, per THR. He highlights that he “did not hire” Peck, and eventually became emotional after recalling speaking with Bell and even helping Bell’s mother write her speech for the judge.

“There’s definitely things that I would do differently,” Schneider admits toward the conclusion of the video, proposing “hav[ing] a licensed therapist” on set to help inform child actors about the industry. He also highlighted “the main thing [he] would change”: “how I treat people.”

“When I watched the show, I could see the hurt in some people’s eyes and it made me feel awful, and regretful, and sorry,” he shared. “I wish I could go back, you know, especially to those earlier years of my career and bring the growth and the experience that I have now and just do a better job and never ever feel like it was ok to be an asshole to anyone ever. Look, I wanted to make funny TV shows for kids and we definitely did that, but if I could go back, I would get it done in different ways.”

Quiet on Set: The Dark Side of Kids TV is streaming on Max. Watch Schneider’s video above.

If you or someone you know needs to reach out about sexual abuse or assault, RAINN is available 24/7 at 800-656-HOPE (4673), or online at RAINN.org.