Zoey 101 alum Matthew Underwood spoke out about being sexually abused when he was younger while breaking his silence about the Quiet on Set docuseries.
Matthew Underwood is speaking out about his past experience with sexual abuse in Hollywood while responding to the Quiet on Set docuseries.
The Zoey 101 alum Matthew Underwood says he was sexually harassed and assaulted by his then-agent at age 19, which was about one year after the Nickelodeon show ended its four-season run. Underwood wrote about the incident in an Instagram post shared March 28, noting that had never had a bad experience working on a set of a show by the cable network. His post came in response to the recently released Investigation Discovery docuseries Quiet on Set: The Dark Side of Kids TV.
“I know many folks want me to respond to the quiet on set documentary,” the 33-year-old began. “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.”
Underwood wrote about two separate experiences he had with sexual abuse. “When I was 12 years old, I was groomed and molested by my best friend’s stepfather,” he wrote, later adding, “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.”
The former Nickelodeon star, who did not name either person, added, “Again, my trust was betrayed and my self-image crushed. I reported him to the agency and he has since been fired although he is still active in the industry. This experience provoked my move away from LA and ended my pursuit of acting.”
Underwood stepped away from acting in 2009 and returned to the screen last year to reprise his Zoey 101 role of Logan Reese in the Nickelodeon sequel film Zoey 102, which was released on Paramount+.
Matthew Underwood said he spoke out because people have been sending him death threats for not commenting on Quiet on Set, released earlier this month. The docuseries include allegations of inappropriate behavior on the sets of Dan Schneider’s ’90s and ’00s Nickelodeon shows, including Zoey 101.
“I imagine many of my friends in the business are being equally harassed if they aren’t joining in the chorus,” Underwood wrote in his post, later adding, “I also ask you all to take a few moments and consider why someone might not share their experiences publicly and not immediately shame them for reserving their right to privacy.”
He went on to defend Schneider. “I never had a bad experience working on set of a Nickelodeon show and I never had a bad experience with Dan,” he said. “I like to believe he is fully capable of being a creator and coworker everyone can enjoy working with.”
The producer, who left Nickelodeon in 2018, had responded to many of the allegations made on the docuseries in a March 19 YouTube video.
“Facing my past behaviors, some of which are embarrassing and that I regret,” he said, “and I definitely owe some people a pretty strong apology.”
Schneider also noted that he did not have exclusive power over what ended up airing on his shows, adding, “There were many, many levels of scrutiny.”
Meanwhile, Nickelodeon told NBC News in a recent statement, “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 group continued, “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.”