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Melissa Joan Hart is displaying help for her former Nickelodeon colleagues amid the discharge of “Quiet on Set: The Dark Side of Kids TV,” an Investigation Discovery docuseries through which Drake Bell of “Drake & Josh” fame alleges he was sexually abused by a Nickelodeon dialect coach as an adolescent.
Hart rose to fame as a Nickelodeon youngster star herself, and stays finest recognized for “Clarissa Explains It All” and ABC’s “Sabrina the Teenage Witch.” Her look Thursday on the podcast “Meghan McCain Has Entered the Chat” makes her the most recent Nickelodeon alum to talk out.
“Nobody’s come to me and talked to me about any of those conditions,” she told McCain. “And that’s to not say something about anybody’s story — I completely belief them, imagine them 100% — however my expertise was that I used to be in Orlando from 1989 to 1993 or 1994.”
Hart was 14 when she landed the starring position in “Clarissa,” and spent the subsequent 4 years filming the sitcom whereas making ready for school. The actor informed McCain she had a “fantastic” expertise on set.
Nevertheless, different former stars have mentioned their experiences on the channel had been very totally different. Bell alleged in “Quiet on Set” that Nickelodeon dialect coach Brian Peck sexually abused him throughout manufacturing of “Drake & Josh” in Los Angeles. Several network alums have spoken out in support of Bell.
“I believe possibly there was a distinction between Hollywood Nickelodeon and Orlando Nickelodeon,” Hart informed McCain, referring to the channel’s manufacturing studio in Florida.
“In Orlando, I had nothing however a beautiful expertise,” Hart added. “We had been in Florida, which was a right-to-work state, so that they did work the children lots more durable than they most likely legally ought to — however we had a ton of enjoyable. It was simply lengthy hours, that’s all.”
According to court documents obtained in 2015 by the Daily Mail, Peck was accused in 2004 of kid molestation and pleaded no contest. He was reportedly convicted of a lewd act in opposition to a baby and oral copulation of an individual below 16, and spent 16 months in jail.
“I don’t know different individuals’s experiences, and I’m not negating something anybody else says,” Hart informed McCain. “I’ve by no means been informed these individuals’s tales… and I’ve to say I’ve by no means heard a narrative from a Nickelodeon star, personally.”
“I’ve been attempting to determine tackle it on social [media], however I’ve not seen the documentary and I believe that’s a mistake,” she added. “I must see the documentary. I preserve which means to, however at night time once I go to mattress… I’m like, ‘Ehh, “Associates.”’”
Hart informed McCain that “not each egg within the Nickelodeon basket is rotten,” and mentioned “there have been some good eggs” who “actually took care” of her throughout her teenage years as a Nickelodeon star.
“To be trustworthy,” she mentioned, “a couple of of them are nonetheless my best possible buddies.”
Final week, Bell slammed Nickelodeon for what he known as its “empty” response to “Quiet on Set,” after the network issued a statement about its “dedication to fostering a protected {and professional} office atmosphere.” Bell additionally confirmed that his 2005 track “Within the Finish” was about the abuse he endured as a teen.
Need assistance? Go to RAINN’s National Sexual Assault Online Hotline or the National Sexual Violence Resource Center’s website.
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