Victoria Justice says former Nickelodeon boss Dan Schneider owes her an apology.
ICYMI, Dan has come under fire this year following the release of Investigation Discovery’s series Quiet on Set: The Dark Side of Kids TV, which included many misconduct allegations against him from his time at Nickelodeon.
“Something that was very evident in the documentary is that Dan had a very large ego,” Victoria told Marie Claire in May 2024, who starred in several of Dan’s shows such as Victorious and Zoey 101.
“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,” she continued.
While the former Victorious actress explained that none of his abuse on set was sexual, one of the documentary’s charges was that the producer snuck sexual overtones into the children’s show — which, in hindsight, Victoria says “were in poor taste.”
The 31-year-old then referred to Dan’s response to the documentary, where he admitted that he owes apologies to many people.
“I would say I’m definitely one of the people on that list,” she told Marie Claire.
“I’m not condoning any of his behavior,” she further explained. “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.”
Since the release of Quiet on Set, the former Nickelodeon TV producer filed a defamation lawsuit, which was obtained by TMZ on Monday, May 1. In the lawsuit, Dan slams the documentary series as well as its creators — including Warner Bros. Discovery, Maxine Productions, Sony Pictures Television, among others.
He told TMZ, “Recently the docuseries Quiet on Set highlighted mistakes I made and poor judgment I exhibited during my time at Nickelodeon, most of which happened decades ago during my early career as a producer, working on shows for Tollin/Robbins Productions. There is no doubt that I was sometimes a bad leader. I am sincerely apologetic and regretful for that behavior, and I will continue to take accountability for it.”
Dan’s lawsuit also claimed that Quiet on Set manipulated the series to create a “false impression” of the producer — and attempted to lump him into the “same bucket as two other convicted child sex offenders who worked on some of the Nickelodeon shows,” per TMZ.
He alleged the defendants did it all for “clickbait, ratings, and views — or simply put, money.”
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