Quiet on Set: The Dark Side of Kids TV, an Investigation Discovery series, premiered in March 2024. It revealed the toxic environment behind the scenes of many beloved '90s kids shows. There are allegations of racism, sexism, and sexual abuse. Kenan Thompson got his start as an original cast member of Nickelodeon's All That.
On March 27, 2024, he appeared on the Tamron Hall Show to promote his new book, When I Was Your Age. Naturally, Tamron brought the series up. It was a hard topic for Kenan to comment on because he did not have a negative experience on the network. He sends his love to all the victims and hopes Nickelodeon investigates.
“It's tough for me because I can't really speak on things that I've never witnessed,” he explained. He didn’t interact much with Dan Schneider, the producer the investigation centers around. Many of the alleged abuses occurred after Kenan’s time at the network.
“Because all these things happened after I left, basically, and Dan wasn't really on Kenan & Kel like that,” he went on to say. “I mean, he got a ‘created by’ credit but it was a different showrunner, so our worlds weren't overly overlapping like that outside of All That necessarily. So I wasn't really aware of a lot of it, but my heart goes out to anybody that's been victimized or their families.”
Kenan is happy the truth is coming to light, even if it taints his memories of working at the network. “I think it's a good thing that the doc is out and is putting things on display that need to be — stories that need to be told for accountability sake but it's definitely tough to watch because I have fond memories of that place,” he mused.
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Tamron reached out to Nickelodeon for comment. The network said it investigates all formal complaints. Kenan had opinions on this.
“Well, investigate more,” he urged. “I mean because it's like, it's supposed to be a safe place you know? It's supposed to be a safe place for kids and to hear all about that it's just like, ‘How dare you?’"
