Dan Schneider may sue over ‘Quiet on Set’ documentary
A judge has allowed showrunner Dan Schneider to proceed with his defamation lawsuit over the documentary “Quiet on Set,” which delved into sexual misconduct at Nickelodeon.
Schneider, the creator of numerous Nickelodeon shows for two decades, called the documentary a “hit job” and said it falsely suggested he was a sexual abuser or that he was aware that two sexual abusers had been hired for his shows .
In a ruling handed down Friday, Judge Ashfaq G. Chowdhury ruled that Schneider’s claims are not frivolous, and that a “reasonable viewer” could conclude that the documentary “has damning implications about his conduct.”
The judge denied a request filed by Warner Bros. lawyers. and Sony, which had sought to dismiss the lawsuit under the state’s anti-SLAPP statute, which prohibits lawsuits designed to chill speech on matters of public interest. They argued that the documentary did not actually accuse Schneider of sexual abuse.
Chowdhury wrote that Schneider’s attorneys had “convincingly argued that defamation may exist, that the trailer and documentary allege or imply that Schneider sexually abused children who worked on his show, and that Schneider was a child sexual abuser.”
“Quiet on Set: The Dark Side of Kids TV” was released in March on Investigation Discovery and Max. It was based on a 2022 Business Insider piece, which reported that Schneider engaged in volatile and bullying behavior on set, creating a “maddening, disgusting, controlling little bubble,” in the words of a former writer .
Some former staffers also complained about overly sexualized material, which they considered inappropriate for young audiences.
Nickelodeon cut ties with Schneider in 2018 after an internal investigation into verbal abuse. The investigation found no evidence of sexual misconduct between Schneider and any child actors. Schneider has repeatedly denied many of the allegations, although he has also apologized for making people feel uncomfortable and asking for neck massages on set.
The documentary delved into the cases of Brian Peck, a former dialogue coach on “The Amanda Show,” and Jason Handy, a former production assistant. Both were later prosecuted for child abuse.
In the lawsuitSchneider claimed that the series placed him next to both men, implying that he too is a sexual abuser or was somehow responsible for their behavior. Even without accusing Schneider of sexual abuse, the lawsuit claimed the show created a “defamatory implication.”
Lawyers for Warner Bros. and Sony, which distributed and produced the show, argued that Schneider distorted the content of the documentary and that Schneider was never accused of sexual abuse.
“The First Amendment prohibits stretching and extrapolating the content of a broadcast far beyond what was actually reported to conclude that it is untrue,” the lawyers wrote.
The judge initially indicated that he would side with the defense, because he felt that Schneider had failed to demonstrate that anything was actually wrong in the documentary.
“The claimant here has not reported each evidence for the falsity of the alleged defamation,” the judge wrote in an earlier preliminary ruling.
Schneider’s attorneys addressed the judge’s concerns by filing a statement on Schneider’s behalf, in which the showrunner confirmed that he had “never sexually assaulted or abused a child.”
“I have never done any of these heinous acts,” Schneider continued. “Any statement or implication that I did so is false, and I will testify at trial that any such statement or implication is false.”
That was enough for the judge to allow the trial to proceed to the next phase.
