The Nickelodeon alum Raquel Lee Bolleau said in a TikTok post on Thursday that she was disappointed with Investigation Discovery's docuseries Quiet on Set: The Dark Side of TV. The show was about toxic sets at Nickelodeon. A panel discussion for an Emmy FYC event, moderated by Scaachi Koul, explored how ID and streamer Max have become hit docuseries.
Raquel Lee Bolleau was Kept in The Dark About Her Own Story
The doc's directors, Mary Robertson and Emma Schwartz, were joined by Drake Bell, Giovannie Samuels, Bryan Christopher Hearne and co-executive producer Kate Taylor. Nickelodeon TV show set director Dan Schneider allegedly abused, sexualised and racially harassed underage stars and crew members.
“Do you think they invited me?” she asked in her video, referring to the Los Angeles event.
In Bolleau's words, "Let me tell you what my problem is with this industry: Quiet on Set did what the industry always does-got what they wanted and then they left. They never thought I'd want to take part in a discussion like that."
She said she has had a hard time dealing with such treatment, bringing up wounds from her childhood. "I've been hurt by this industry left and right ever since I was a kid." Bolleau said.
Former Double Dare host Marc Summers, another Quiet on Set participant, recently walked off the set. "They ambushed me," he said. They didn't tell me what this documentary was really about. So they showed me a video that I couldn't believe was on Nickelodeon, and I was like, 'Whoah, let's stop the tape right now.' What are we doing?"
In response the co-directors, “We are clear with each participant about the nature of our projects.”
Additionally, Bolleau claimed she wasn't told what the documentary was about in her video. First off, you don't even tell me what kind of documentary I'm in," she said. "You never asked if this would trigger me."
Some Child Safety Protocols Should Definitely be in Place
It's worth pointing out that sometimes reporters find out exactly what the story is while reporting. Yet, various allegations against Schneider have been public since 2018, and Business Insider reporter Kate Taylor did an in-depth story on Schneider in August 2022.
As Bolleau continued, "Number two comes out and you tell me, 'Oh, you're going to be on episodes one and four. Then you call me on the day that the fifth episode comes out, saying, ‘Hey, by the way, you’re also in the fifth episode.’ Oh, and there will also be a panel discussion about your current situation. You want me to share my story but you don’t want to involve me in the actual narrative of change?”
ID greenlit a bonus fifth episode, Breaking the Silence, following the success of the two-night, four-part series.
Recently, Jason Sarlanis, president of TNT, TBS, TruTV, ID & HLN, linear and streaming, commented that Quiet on Set has been getting a lot of conversation on social media because it's part of something so much bigger than itself, a real movement for change. "It's become incredibly clear that when it comes to children and entertainment, we simply have to do better."
Former Amanda Show writer Jenny Kilgen, who appears in the documentary, wrote an open letter urging SAG-AFTRA to implement robust child safety protocols. Actors' union has since outlined their processes.
