Nickelodeon and Victorious alum Victoria Justice is breaking her silence on Dan Schneider following the docu-series Quiet on Set: The Dark Side of Kids TV.
In a new interview, Justice recalls her “complex” relationship with Schneider and feels she’s owed an apology.
“Something that was very evident in the documentary is that Dan had a very large ego,” Justice told Marie Claire. “And sometimes that ego clouded his better judgment and affected the way he treated people, and there were times I felt like I was being treated unfairly.”
Justice says that nothing sexual ever happened with Schneider she does recall some moments that “were in poor taste.” After watching the docuseries, Schneider said he owed people an apology, and to that, Justice said, “I would say I’m definitely one of the people on that list.”
The Fun Size star says she has not been in contact with Schneider since leaving Nickelodeon aside from a handful of virtual and in-person reunions with the casts of Zoey 101 and Victorious.
“I’m not condoning any of his behavior,” she said. “At the end of the day, my relationship with Dan is a very complex one: I met him when I was 12 years old, and he’s the person that gave me this big break. He completely changed my life.”
She continued, “Most likely I wouldn’t be here where I am today if it weren’t for him, and for him seeing something in me. For that I will always be grateful. After watching his apology, I think he recognizes that he did a lot of things wrong, and I think if he could step back into a time machine, he would do a lot of things differently.”
Justice follows a series of former Nickelodeon stars opening up about their time working with Schneider. Most recently All That alum Lori Beth Denberg claimed Schneider showed her pornography and initiated phone sex.
In a statement to Deadline, Dan Schneider called Denberg’s claims “wildly exaggerated and, in most cases, false.”
Schneider admits to having “made mistakes and exhibited poor judgment as a leader” at the early stages of his career, adding, “If I did that with respect to Lori Beth, I sincerely apologize to her. But I cannot apologize for things I did not do.”
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