Matthew Underwood has released a statement following bombshell revelations in the documentary Quiet On Set: The Dark Side of Kids TV.
The former Zoey 101 star released a lengthy message on Saturday, responding to allegations in the Nickelodeon exposé. The damning special features explosive claims about the children's TV network when Dan Schneider was at the helm.
Underwood hadn't yet spoken publicly about the programme, but revealed his reason why in the heartbreaking confession shared on his Instagram. "I know many folks want me to respond to the quiet on set documentary," he wrote on a white background.
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Matthew made a heartbreaking confession on Instagram (Getty Images)
He penned a statement shared on Saturday evening (Instagram/mattunderwood)He added: "I'm going to share something with you that I never thought I'd have to talk about publicly, as it's honestly none of your business anyway." Matthew revealed he was groomed and molested by his best friend's stepfather when he was just 12-years-old.
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"I lost the best friends I'd ever had because I couldn't spend any time with them without feeling the personal disgust and betrayal brought on by a man I trusted as a father to me," he explained. "When I was 19, I was sexually harassed and then assaulted by my agent at the time, who had spent a decent amount of time building trust with me as a friend and mentor. Again, my trust was betrayed and my self image crushed."
The child star says he reported his abuser who was subsequently sacked, although Matthew says the person is "still active in the industry". He says the whole thing led to his decision to leave Los Angeles and 'ended his pursuit of acting' for good.
Matthew says he's received hate from vile trolls on social media after the release of Quiet on Set for not speaking out sooner. "I have spent many years rebuilding my self-image and those hateful words have little effect on me today," he added.
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Dan Schneider has since broken his silence on allegations (Getty Images)The actor went on to explain that he'd "never had a bad experience" working on set of a Nickelodeon show and "never had a bad experience with Dan". Matthew added, "I have nothing to add to the conversation that anyone would care to hear. I like to believe people have the capacity to be better humans and Dan appears to recognize that he had been an asshole in his past. I like to believe he is fully capable of being a creator and coworker everyone can enjoy working with. I have no expectation to work with him again, this is just me wanting good for anyone who wants to be better."
Following the documentary, a representative for Schneider has released a statement. Speaking to Variety, they said: "If there was an actual problem with the scenes that some people, now years later are ‘sexualising,’ they would be taken down, but they are not, they are aired constantly all over the world today still, enjoyed by both kids and parents."
"Remember, all stories, dialogue, costumes, and makeup were fully approved by network executives on two coasts. A standards and practices group read and ultimately approved every script, and programming executives reviewed and approved all episodes.
"In addition, every day on every set, there were always parents and caregivers and their friends watching filming and rehearsals. Had there been any scenes or outfits that were inappropriate in any way, they would have been flagged and blocked by this multi-layered scrutiny. Unfortunately, some adults project their adult minds onto kids’ shows, drawing false conclusions about them," the statement concluded.
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