Latest news with #QuietonSet:TheDarkSideofKidsTV
New York Times
16-04-2025
- Entertainment
- New York Times
Kids, Inc.
The scenes leave a pit in your stomach. In Netflix's 'Bad Influence: The Dark Side of Kidfluencing,' two early teenagers are pressured to kiss by adults — a parent and a videographer — on camera. Hulu's 'The Devil in the Family: The Ruby Franke Story' shows the dramatic footage of Franke's 12-year-old son showing up at a neighbor's door with duct tape markings around his ankle, asking them to call police. The pair of documentaries, released this year, shine a light on the perils of child-centered online content. 'Bad Influence' examines claims of abuse and exploitation made by 11 former members of the teen YouTube collective 'The Squad' against Tiffany Smith — who ran the YouTube channel, which drew two million subscribers — and her former boyfriend Hunter Hill. Both denied the allegations, and the suit was settled for a reported $1.85 million last year. Ruby Franke, a mother of six, pleaded guilty to four counts of aggravated child abuse in 2023 after denying her children adequate food and water and isolating them as she built a family YouTube channel that amassed nearly 2.5 million subscribers before it was taken down. She will serve up to 30 years in prison. Concerns about the treatment of child entertainers have abounded since the days of Judy Garland and through last year's 'Quiet on Set: The Dark Side of Kids TV,' in which former Nickelodeon actors described performing under harmful and sexually inappropriate conditions. Less examined is the working world of child influencers, who are now speaking out about the harsh, unsafe or emotionally taxing constraints of being broadcast by their parents. Viewers may be tempted to ask, 'Aren't there laws against this?' 'We have pretty documented evidence of the troubling pipeline for Hollywood and child actors, but we don't have nearly similar numbers for child influencers, primarily because the phenomenon of influencing is so young,' said Chris McCarty, the founder and executive director of Quit Clicking Kids, an organization dedicated to stopping the monetization of minors. 'A lot of the kids are too young to even really fully understand what's going on, let alone, like, actually speak out about their experiences.' Child entertainer laws — which in some cases make provisions for minors' education, set limits on working hours and stipulate that earnings be placed in a trust — regulate theatrical industries. The world of content creators, where an account with a sizable following can generate millions of dollars a year for creators, is largely unregulated. McCarty worked with the California legislature to draft an amendment to the Coogan Law, legislation passed in 1939 that requires employers to set aside 15 percent of a child actor's earnings in a trust. In September 2024, Gov. Gavin Newsom of California signed Senate Bill 764, mandating that creators who feature children in 30 percent or more of their content set aside a proportioned percentage of their earnings into a trust for the child to access when they turn 18. The law went into effect this year and made California the third state (along with Illinois and Minnesota) to adopt financial protections for children featured in social media content. Some notable family vloggers uprooted from California for Tennessee in the immediate aftermath. The LaBrant family, whose YouTube (12.8 million subscribers) and TikTok content (the mother, Savannah, has 30.3 million followers) mainly revolves around their five young children, explained their move to Nashville in a post, saying 'We truly feel like this is where God is calling our family.' Brittany Xavier, a prominent TikTok creator with over 3 million followers whose content mostly showcases her three children, attributed her move to Nashville to finding mold in her family's California rental house. They did not respond to requests for comment, nor did they cite the new law as the reason for their departures, but commenters on their videos and on Reddit have speculated about whether the new legislation contributed to their moves. The amendment to the Coogan Law could be a starting point to more regulation. 'The law can also be expanded to make sure that kids have boundaries on their working hours and protections in terms of being guaranteed education,' said Mary Jean Amon, an assistant professor at Indiana University who specializes in research on parental sharing and beliefs about autonomy and consent. That might prove difficult given the lack of boundaries between work and home for child influencers. In 'The Devil in the Family,' the Franke children protested rarely having any time off from making content — outtakes from their vlogs showed one of the family's sons, Chad, who is now 20, being told to answer with more enthusiasm when he was tired and didn't want to be on camera. 'It felt more like a set than a house,' Shari Franke, 22, says in one scene in the documentary. 'For kid influencers, those cameras are ubiquitous since most of the adults around them will have one in hand at virtually all times,' Amon said. 'Rather than playing characters, child influencers are observed as themselves, while also being heavily rewarded for pandering to the desires of strangers, and sometimes they're punished for failing to do so.' Those follower-strangers represent a danger far more difficult to address. Deja Smith, a stay-at-home mother from the Houston area, creates lifestyle videos for Instagram and TikTok, where she has a following of about 140,000. She shared details and images of her newborn daughter for most of the first year of her life until strangers started recognizing her child in public and leaving upsetting comments on social media. After reading more about the ways users can manipulate children's images through artificial intelligence and search for personal information like an address through photos, she wiped images of her daughter from the internet altogether. 'I honestly feel uncomfortable watching other family vloggers' accounts that are centered around their kid,' Smith said. 'I'm not interested, and I block because I don't want to be a part of that or supporting that kind of content.'
Yahoo
25-03-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Drake Bell opens up to Josh Peck about sexual abuse allegations during Nickelodeon days
Millennials, rejoice: Drake & Josh are talking things out. One year after Drake Bell revealed in Quiet on Set: The Dark Side of Kids TV that he was sexually abused as a child actor during his Nickelodeon tenure, he appeared on his former co-star Josh Peck's podcast, Good Guys, co-hosted with Ben Soffer, to discuss the trauma, their hot-and-cold friendship and the show's legacy. 'This is going to be like therapy,' Bell said at the top of the episode, which premiered on March 24. Through the years, Bell and Josh have aired their grievances, with the takeaway being that while their names will forever be linked, their friendship — from working together as children on a show that debuted over 20 years ago (and The Amanda Show before that) — faded. During the conversation, they acknowledged that even while on Drake & Josh things were complicated as they navigated stardom, adolescence and Bell reporting Nickelodeon dialogue coach Brian Peck (no relation to Josh) for sexual abuse. View this post on Instagram A post shared by Drake Bell (@drakebell) 'There were times when we hung out a lot and we were close, and then there were times when, not for any reason, [we] just weren't,' Bell said. 'We were dealing with a lot of shit outside of our … working [relationship].' Bell explained that between The Amanda Show ending in 2002 and Drake & Josh premiering in 2004, he told his mother about being sexually assaulted by Brian Peck, who was 26 years his senior, and they went to police. During the investigation, Brian continued to come to the set — and teen Bell had to proceed like it was business as usual. 'When we shot the pilot, we were in the middle of the investigation, but nobody [knew] anything because Brian hadn't been arrested,' Bell said. 'The worst part about it [was] having the monster in [my] safe place,' on the set where he and Josh would 'goof around and put on our masks and wigs and makeup and make people laugh.' He continued, 'Every day I got there [and] the monster was there. … He's walking around set.' View this post on Instagram A post shared by Ben Soffer (@boywithnojob) So what should have been this great experience for them was just the opposite because of the background drama that was Bell's secret. 'I'm entering the Drake & Josh phase, where we should be … partners. This is our time. Let's do it. [But] I came back to the same stage, the same parking lot, the same dressing rooms… Everything's triggering,' Bell said. 'And in the back of my head the whole time I'm working on the pilot, I know that there's this investigation happening [and] this guy's about to get arrested [and] that shit is about to hit the fan and nobody in here knows it. And I'm 14 or 15.' Bell said he 'was losing my hair' and had 'golf-ball size scabs' on his head from the stress. Josh said because he didn't know what was happening, 'I was just looking at it through the prism of a 14-year old's brain going: 'Ah, he doesn't want much to do with me.'' Brian pleaded no contest to performing a lewd act with a 14- or 15-year-old and oral copulation with a minor under 16 in 2004. At his sentencing, Brian had a room of supporters and had submitted about 40 letters from well-known people in the industry attesting to his good character, which made Bell feel even more alone and confused. The identity of the minor 'John Doe' was mostly a secret. Josh, who was also largely in the dark, talked about not knowing what to make of Brian, who had been 'everpresent' on the set, suddenly disappearing. (Brian served 18 months in prison.) 'I didn't know anything except I had a feeling something happened,' Josh said. 'I remember we're in the car … and I said: 'Do you still talk to Brian?' And you just looked at me [and said] 'No, Brian's a really bad guy.' And I remember thinking, 'Gotcha.' It was all that I needed to know.' Josh talked about their being 'many inappropriate things' going on in the kid-centric workplace and an overall 'lack of protection.' Josh said it was 'absolutely insane' that those types of things 'could have been allowed in any respect. At 14, I remember going, This relationship is inappropriate.' However, Josh said there were 'so many microinfractions … that you would see on set in a day and just go, I don't know that that would be cool anywhere else, but here, yeah. And so when you had tyrannical bosses or just people acting inappropriately, I think the assumption was in Hollywood this was just kind of part of it.' They talked about how, despite the backstage goings-on, the show they created as kids holds up in many ways and how they feel fortunate they were able to make it, but you couldn't avoid the downside. 'There's also the truth of everything you went through and everything that was an experience for a kid that was unacceptable in so many ways,' Josh said. He continued, 'I remember people would ask me about the show [in the years after it ended] and I would say, 'Well, I lost 100 pounds and had to get sober at 21. Did I seem happy? It's a bit of a sign.' But [I also think]: How much do I just keep this to myself and allow this wonderful memory for people to just continue to exist?' Bell said he also wrestles with that but doesn't want what happened to him to ruin the show, which he holds close to his heart. 'I had a lot of people reaching out, [saying], 'Oh, don't worry, Drake, we'll never watch the show ever again [because we know] what you were going through while you were making [it],' he said. 'I'm like: Whoa, whoa. No, no, no, no, no. When [it was] lights, camera, action and I walk in and Josh is wearing a dress, that … was where I actually was comfortable and happy and stoked. I'm very proud of what we did. I loved the show.' Josh added, 'It was very special — and you can't re-create it.' Part one of the interview is now available; part two will follow on March 27. If you or someone you know has been sexually assaulted, help is available. RAINN's National Sexual Assault Hotline is here for survivors 24/7 with free, anonymous help. (4673) and
Yahoo
25-03-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Drake Bell opens up to Josh Peck about sexual abuse allegations during Nickelodeon days
Millennials, rejoice: Drake & Josh are talking things out. One year after Drake Bell revealed in Quiet on Set: The Dark Side of Kids TV that he was sexually abused as a child actor during his Nickelodeon tenure, he appeared on his former co-star Josh Peck's podcast, Good Guys, co-hosted with Ben Soffer, to discuss the trauma, their hot-and-cold friendship and the show's legacy. 'This is going to be like therapy,' Bell said at the top of the episode, which premiered on March 24. Through the years, Bell and Josh have aired their grievances, with the takeaway being that while their names will forever be linked, their friendship — from working together as children on a show that debuted over 20 years ago (and The Amanda Show before that) — faded. During the conversation, they acknowledged that even while on Drake & Josh things were complicated as they navigated stardom, adolescence and Bell reporting Nickelodeon dialogue coach Brian Peck (no relation to Josh) for sexual abuse. 'There were times when we hung out a lot and we were close, and then there were times when, not for any reason, [we] just weren't,' Bell said. 'We were dealing with a lot of shit outside of our … working [relationship].' Bell explained that between The Amanda Show ending in 2002 and Drake & Josh premiering in 2004, he told his mother about being sexually assaulted by Brian Peck, who was 26 years his senior, and they went to police. During the investigation, Brian continued to come to the set — and teen Bell had to proceed like it was business as usual. 'When we shot the pilot, we were in the middle of the investigation, but nobody [knew] anything because Brian hadn't been arrested,' Bell said. 'The worst part about it [was] having the monster in [my] safe place,' on the set where he and Josh would 'goof around and put on our masks and wigs and makeup and make people laugh.' He continued, 'Every day I got there [and] the monster was there. … He's walking around set.' So what should have been this great experience for them was just the opposite because of the background drama that was Bell's secret. 'I'm entering the Drake & Josh phase, where we should be … partners. This is our time. Let's do it. [But] I came back to the same stage, the same parking lot, the same dressing rooms… Everything's triggering,' Bell said. 'And in the back of my head the whole time I'm working on the pilot, I know that there's this investigation happening [and] this guy's about to get arrested [and] that shit is about to hit the fan and nobody in here knows it. And I'm 14 or 15.' Bell said he 'was losing my hair' and had 'golf-ball size scabs' on his head from the stress. Josh said because he didn't know what was happening, 'I was just looking at it through the prism of a 14-year old's brain going: 'Ah, he doesn't want much to do with me.'' Brian pleaded no contest to performing a lewd act with a 14- or 15-year-old and oral copulation with a minor under 16 in 2004. At his sentencing, Brian had a room of supporters and had submitted about 40 letters from well-known people in the industry attesting to his good character, which made Bell feel even more alone and confused. The identity of the minor 'John Doe' was mostly a secret. Josh, who was also largely in the dark, talked about not knowing what to make of Brian, who had been 'everpresent' on the set, suddenly disappearing. (Brian served 18 months in prison.) 'I didn't know anything except I had a feeling something happened,' Josh said. 'I remember we're in the car … and I said: 'Do you still talk to Brian?' And you just looked at me [and said] 'No, Brian's a really bad guy.' And I remember thinking, 'Gotcha.' It was all that I needed to know.' Josh talked about their being 'many inappropriate things' going on in the kid-centric workplace and an overall 'lack of protection.' Josh said it was 'absolutely insane' that those types of things 'could have been allowed in any respect. At 14, I remember going, This relationship is inappropriate.' However, Josh said there were 'so many microinfractions … that you would see on set in a day and just go, I don't know that that would be cool anywhere else, but here, yeah. And so when you had tyrannical bosses or just people acting inappropriately, I think the assumption was in Hollywood this was just kind of part of it.' They talked about how, despite the backstage goings-on, the show they created as kids holds up in many ways and how they feel fortunate they were able to make it, but you couldn't avoid the downside. 'There's also the truth of everything you went through and everything that was an experience for a kid that was unacceptable in so many ways,' Josh said. He continued, 'I remember people would ask me about the show [in the years after it ended] and I would say, 'Well, I lost 100 pounds and had to get sober at 21. Did I seem happy? It's a bit of a sign.' But [I also think]: How much do I just keep this to myself and allow this wonderful memory for people to just continue to exist?' Bell said he also wrestles with that but doesn't want what happened to him to ruin the show, which he holds close to his heart. 'I had a lot of people reaching out, [saying], 'Oh, don't worry, Drake, we'll never watch the show ever again [because we know] what you were going through while you were making [it],' he said. 'I'm like: Whoa, whoa. No, no, no, no, no. When [it was] lights, camera, action and I walk in and Josh is wearing a dress, that … was where I actually was comfortable and happy and stoked. I'm very proud of what we did. I loved the show.' Josh added, 'It was very special — and you can't re-create it.' Part one of the interview is now available; part two will follow on March 27. If you or someone you know has been sexually assaulted, help is available. RAINN's National Sexual Assault Hotline is here for survivors 24/7 with free, anonymous help. (4673) and
NBC News
25-03-2025
- Entertainment
- NBC News
Drake Bell opens up to former co-star Josh Peck following ‘Quiet on Set' docuseries
Actor Drake Bell told his former Nickelodeon co-star Josh Peck that he worried about the fate of their friendship after he reported allegations of child abuse during their time on 'Drake & Josh.' The former child stars, who reunited for the first time in nearly 20 years for an episode of Peck's podcast, ' Good Guys,' reflected on the revelations made in last year's docuseries 'Quiet on Set: The Dark Side of Kids TV.' The Investigative Discovery series, which aired in March 2024, featured interviews with several actors and former child stars who alleged abuse, inappropriate behavior and a toxic work environment while appearing on some Nickelodeon shows. It was the first time Bell publicly addressed his accusations of child sexual abuse against Nick dialogue coach Brian Peck (no relation to Josh Peck), who was arrested in 2003 and charged with 'lewd acts with a child,' according to a news release from the Los Angeles Police Department. The release said Brian Peck had molested an unidentified minor he had worked with over a period of six months. After he pleaded no contest, Brian Peck was convicted of lewd or lascivious acts with a 14- or 15-year-old child and oral copulation with a minor under 16, according to a case summary from Los Angeles County Superior Court. He was sentenced to 16 months in prison. Brian Peck was 'walking around set' during the filming of the show's pilot as the investigation was happening, Bell said in the podcast episode. 'Where I felt most comfortable, where I was the happiest, was when I was on set with you guys,' Bell told Josh Peck. 'And the worst part was, every day I got there, the monster was there.' Attempts to reach Brian Peck for comment were unsuccessful on Monday. At the time the 'Drake & Josh' pilot was being shot, Bell said he agonized about whether the situation would negatively impact the show's future. He was afraid the investigation would go public. 'When this drops, is Josh going to look at me and be like, 'Bro, you took our dream away?' … Like, are we going to lose our show?' Bell said as he recounted his stress. 'Dude, I was losing my hair, like I had these giant scabs on my head.' 'Drake & Josh," in which the two played stepbrothers and polar opposite s, ended in 2007. But Bell's identity in Brian Peck's case wasn't revealed until the the docuseries debuted in 2024. Josh Peck previously said that he had reached out to Bell privately in the days after 'Quiet on Set' was released. When they caught up on the podcast episode, Josh Peck recounted the moment he noticed Brian Peck had suddenly disappeared from set. He said he 'had a feeling something happened,' and recalled asking Bell one day whether he still spoke to Brian Peck, to which Bell had replied, 'No, Brian's a really bad guy.' But it wasn't until the docuseries came out that Josh Peck said he learned the full extent of what his co-star went through. 'In watching the documentary at 38, as a father, as a grown-up, so much was revealed to me of what you had to go through,' Josh Peck said. 'I can't even imagine that.' He later said working as a child actor during that time, 'there were so many things that you would see on set in a day and just go, 'I don't know if that'd be cool anywhere else but here.'' 'And so when you had tyrannical bosses or just people acting inappropriately,' he continued. 'I think the assumption was, in Hollywood, like this was just kind of part of it.'' A spokesperson for Nickelodeon previously issued a statement on the docuseries. 'Though we cannot corroborate or negate allegations of behaviors from productions decades ago, Nickelodeon as a matter of policy investigates all formal complaints as part of our commitment to fostering a safe and professional workplace environment free of harassment or other kinds of inappropriate conduct," the spokesperson said in March 2024. "Our highest priorities are the well-being and best interests not just of our employees, casts and crew, but of all children, and we have adopted numerous safeguards over the years to help ensure we are living up to our own high standards and the expectations of our audience.' Before 'Quiet on Set,' Bell had faced his own controversy. The actor was sentenced to two years of probation for child endangerment after he was accused of 'grooming' a female victim from when she was 12. He pleaded guilty to felony attempted child endangerment and a misdemeanor charge for disseminating matter harmful to juveniles. Following the docuseries' release, Bell experienced a wave of support. But some of his fans lashed out at Bell's own accusers, who faced online harassment.
Express Tribune
22-03-2025
- Entertainment
- Express Tribune
'We've ever sat down and talked'– Drake Bell breaks down during podcast reunion with Josh Peck
Drake Bell and Josh Peck reunited publicly for the first time since the release of the 2024 documentary Quiet on Set: The Dark Side of Kids TV. The two former Drake & Josh co-stars opened up about their experiences as child actors during an upcoming episode of Peck's podcast, Good Guys, which he co-hosts with Ben Soffer. In a preview shared with People magazine, Bell and Peck reflected on their childhood stardom and the challenges that came with it, including the pressures of growing up in the public eye. Peck shared his perspective on the emotional toll of their roles, revealing that he felt an obligation to protect the show's legacy while acknowledging the difficult experiences they went through as young actors. One of the more poignant moments in the podcast comes when Bell speaks about the trauma he endured, having previously disclosed his sexual assault by his dialogue coach, Brian Peck (no relation to Josh), in the Quiet on Set documentary. The podcast episode also touches on Josh's own struggles with weight loss and sobriety, acknowledging the complexities of their shared history. The pair discussed how they were treated like adults during their time on the show, with limited space to experience their formative years. "I can't imagine losing those formative years," said Good Guys producer Olivia Meade. The episode marks the first time the two have publicly addressed the revelations from the documentary, including Bell's emotional response to the past. Looking ahead, Bell expressed a desire to work with Peck again, saying he would love to revisit Drake & Josh in a new context. "My dream is to do something like Curb Your Enthusiasm," he remarked, hinting at a possible project with Peck in the future. Part 1 of the podcast will drop on March 24, followed by part two on March 27.
