Disclaimer: This article mentions sexual assault and child abuse.
Emma Roberts reacted strongly to Keeping Calm on Set: The documentary series Kids TV – The Dark Side, completely unaffected by the revelations in each episode of child abuse allegations by former Nickelodeon child stars. The shooting took place when Reynolds was 17, but the 33-year-old actress, who became famous playing Edie Singer in Nickelodeon’s comedy series Unfabulous (2004-2007), stressed the fact that she was not harassed by network executives.
“I was completely horrified and shocked, because this had not been my experience,” Roberts told Variety in an interview published on July 5. “It made me really sad that this was happening to people I saw so often and I had no idea.”
Recalling her time filming Unfabulous, Roberts said she still remembers the good times she had on the show.
Emma Roberts reflects on her early TV career and advocates for safer sets in the wake of recent allegations
Roberts spoke about her early TV work and how her show Unfabulous had one of the best female showrunners, Sue Rose, which was a rarity at the time. She also stressed that her mother always acted as a mentor to her on set, always being there to be careful.
Reflecting on Peace on Set: In the TV docuseries Children on the Dark Side where several actors accused of child abuse on set and against Nickelodeon, Roberts said she felt saddened. She also spoke about the safety of children and adults on set and recognized efforts to make the workplace safer. The information from the video touched her and it left a significant mark on her attitude towards the acting profession and the treatment of young talent in the industry.
Docuseries exposes the dark side of kids’ TV
In the docuseries Quiet on Set: The Dark Side of Kids’ TV, several former child actors revealed what they endured while working on children’s television programs that were rife with this culture in the late 1990s and early 2000s, many of which were created by Dan Schneider.
Some of the revelations in the series were unfortunate; one Nickelodeon actor, Drake Bell, revealed that he was sexually harassed by a dialogue coach. Also, two female writers of The Amanda Show accused Schneider of gender discrimination. There were also many other nasty allegations from employees and former cast members of the shows about conditions on Nickelodeon’s sets.
Following allegations of sexual abuse, Dan Schneider was fired from Nickelodeon in 2018 after an independent investigation. However, Schneider has denied any misconduct in the allegations made against him.
In an interview with PEOPLE in March, Nickelodeon said they cannot deny or investigate what happened in productions from decades ago, but claimed the network takes all official complaints very seriously. They reiterated their company policies of professional conduct and expectations in the workplace and stated zero tolerance for harassment and the like.
Nickelodeon said in a statement to PEOPLE in March about alleged behavior on a past production set, “While we cannot confirm or deny allegations of behavior involving productions from decades ago, Nickelodeon investigates all formal complaints as a matter of policy as part of our commitment to fostering a safe and professional workplace environment free from harassment or other types of inappropriate conduct.”
The statement further said, “Our top priorities are the well-being and best interests of not only our staff, cast and crew members, but also all children, and we have implemented a number of safety measures over the past few years to ensure we are meeting our high standards and our audiences’ expectations.”
This statement was notable because it indicated that Nickelodeon cares about its employees, cast/crew, and every child. During this time, the network has taken several measures to protect the company and meet audience expectations.
