Nickelodeon’s Zoey 101 actor Matthew Underwood says he was sexually harassed and assaulted by his former agent when he was 19, and defended those who chose not to speak up following the release of Investigation Discovery’s Quiet on Set: The Dark Side Of Kids TV documentary, which featured shocking revelations involving child molestation at the network, among other things.
“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,” Underwood, who played Logan Reese in Nickelodeon’s Zoey 101, said.
“I reported him to the agency and he has since been fired — although he is still active in the industry,” the actor said of his former agent, whom he does not name. “This experience provoked my move away from LA and ending my pursuit of acting.”
Underwood explained that he was sharing this information because “lately, many people have been blowing up my email telling me they hope me and my mom die and that we burn in hell,” adding that he is being called “a pedophile defender” following the release of Quiet on Set.
“I imagine many of my friends in the business are being equally harassed if they aren’t joining in the chorus, so I’m sharing this with hope that some of you can recognize that just because a person doesn’t shout from the rooftops that pedophiles are bad or that people can suck — that does not mean they don’t have their own reasons for staying silent, good reasons, personal reasons,” he said.
Underwood went on to say that he “never had a bad experience working on set of a Nickelodeon show,” nor with Nickelodeon executive producer Dan Schneider.
“I have nothing to add to the conversation that anyone would care to hear,” Underwood said.
“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,” the actor added. “I like to believe he is fully capable of being a creator and coworker everyone can enjoy working with.”
“I can’t believe I even have to say this, but of course I don’t fucking support pedophiles,” Underwood asserted.
“Please stop wishing death upon my family and please reconsider harassing other actors who wish to maintain their privacy,” he added. “You never know who has already been a victim of the hell you’re wishing upon them.”
As Breitbart News reported, in Quiet on Set, Schneider was accused of exhibiting “volatile” and fostering a toxic workplace environment, as well as inserting salacious references in children’s shows on Nickelodeon. The docuseries also featured revelations involving several convicted child molesters that worked at the network.
You can follow Alana Mastrangelo on Facebook and X/Twitter at @ARmastrangelo, and on Instagram.
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