Dan Schneider has addressed allegations against him Tuesday in a 20-minute interview conducted by BooG!e on Schneider’s YouTube channel.
Schneider has finally spoken out regarding the allegations made in the new ID docuseries, “Quiet on Set: The Dark Side of Kids TV.”
“Watching over the past two nights was very difficult,” former Nickelodeon series creator told BooG!e in the interview. “Me facing my past behaviors, some of which are embarrassing and that I regret. And I definitely owe some people a pretty strong apology.”
One aspect of the special delved into claims Schneider requested crew members to massage him on set. He addressed the massages directly in this interview. “It was wrong,” Schneider said. (RELATED: Nickelodeon Allegedly Ignored Star’s Request To Cut ‘Sexualized’ Pickle-Eating Scene)
“It was wrong that I ever put anybody in that position. It was the wrong thing to do. I’d never do it today. I’m embarrassed that I did it then. I apologize to anybody that I ever put in that situation. 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.”
LOS ANGELES, CA – MARCH 29: Writer/producer Dan Schneider (C) accepts the Lifetime Achievement Award onstage with actors Maree Cheatham and Christopher Massey onstage during Nickelodeon’s 27th Annual Kids’ Choice Awards held at USC Galen Center on March 29, 2014 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Kevin Winter/Getty Images)
Schneider discussed concerns regarding potentially offensive jokes in his shows. “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,” Schneider explained. “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 kids show.’ And I have no problem with that, if that’s how somebody feels, let’s cut those jokes out of the show.”
Towards the conclusion of the YouTube interview, Schneider expressed regret over his past behavior. “The main thing that I would change is how I treat people, and everyone,” he added. “I definitely, at times, didn’t give people the best of me. I didn’t show enough patience. I could be cocky and definitely over-ambitious, and sometimes just straight-up rude and obnoxious. And I am so sorry that I ever was.”