Blue’s Clues host Steve Burns has responded to the explosive documentary Quiet on Set: The Dark Side of Kids TV, a docuseries that exposes the dark underbelly of children’s television on Nickelodeon.
Burns, 50, who starred on the hit Nick Jr. series from 1996 to 2002, shared his reaction to Quiet on Set in a recent interview, explaining that Nickelodeon and Nick Jr. were filmed on opposite coasts and had very different programming.
‘Nick Jr. and Nickelodeon (programming) were so different,” he said in an interview with Today.
“We’re in New York, they’re in LA,” he said. “There’s no overlap whatsoever between these shows and what we were doing.”
Blue’s Clues host Steve Burns (pictured in the show0) has responded to the explosive documentary Quiet on Set: The Dark Side of Kids TV
Burns, 50, said he “like everyone else responds to the allegations with horror and heartbreak.”
Burns said he has no “specific insight” into the allegations against Nickelodeon built by creator Dan Schneider, specifically All That and The Amanda Show.
“I’m going there the same as anyone else, with horror and heartbreak,” he said.
“It’s just devastating to watch it unfold. I don’t know what else to say other than it’s heartbreaking.’
The actor was praised by fans last month for ‘checking in’ with them after the Quiet On Set docuseries first aired.
Burns, who was not referenced in the docuseries, posted a video on TikTok saying, “Hey, I’m checking in.” Tell me, what’s going on?’
He then sat silently and nodded as if listening to someone – with fans praising him for his empathy.
“After the Nickelodeon thing, we need our Steve now more than ever,” one user wrote.
“I feel like he knew the Nickelodeon fans needed this after the documentary came out. And this is the best answer: how are you? Are you OK?’ added another.
Drake Bell has slammed the celebrities who wrote letters of support for sex abuser Brian Peck, claiming no one has yet reached out to him personally – before making a shocking defense of ‘abuser’ Dan Schneider
The former Drake & Josh star, now 37, has now spoken out again in the latest episode of the docuseries – titled Breaking The Silence – to unravel even more shocking claims
Peck was arrested and charged with nearly a dozen charges related to allegations that he sexually assaulted a then-unnamed minor in August 2003.
“Not that I’m sitting in bed in tears at almost 3am because Steve from Blues Clues shows up on my fyp and asks what’s going on? The only thing we have left that is pure from our childhood,” said another fan.
Many Nickelodeon fans have been left reeling by the allegations and claims made in Mary Robertson and Emma Schwartz’s docuseries Quiet on Set – especially the one aired by former child actor Drake Bell, now 37, who accused his dialogue coach Brian Peck of subjecting him to ‘unspeakable’ sexual abuse as a young star.
He explained that his father hired Brian, now 63, who was a dialogue coach at Nickelodeon and previously worked with Leonardo DiCaprio, to coach his young son after his career took off.
But immediately he said that the coach began to integrate himself into his life and helped him not only on the set: he attended the concerts of the then aspiring singer and organized his birthday parties.
While Drake initially thought Brian was “his friend,” one day during a casting call, he said “everything changed.”
Drake, who was 15 years old at the time, explained that he was sleeping on a couch when he suddenly woke up and Brian “sexually assaulted him.”
“I was frozen and completely shocked and had no idea what to do or how to react,” he recalled in the doctor’s office.
‘I had no idea how to get out of this situation. What am I supposed to do, call my mom and say, “Hey, this just happened, can you come pick me up? I’m just going to sit here and wait…” It just became this secret that I was holding on to. ‘
He said Brian was overly apologetic, but the abuse didn’t stop there. Instead, Drake said it “just got worse, and worse, and worse, and worse.”
“I was just trapped and I had no way out,” the former Drake & Josh star said. ‘The abuse was extensive and it became quite brutal.
‘I really don’t know how to work that out in front of the camera. Think of the worst things someone can do to someone as sexual assault, and that will answer your question. I don’t know how else to say it.’
In the series, Drake exposed the “unspeakable” and “brutal” sexual abuse he suffered at the age of 15 at the hands of his Nickelodeon dialogue coach Peck.
Peck was arrested and charged with nearly a dozen charges related to allegations that he sexually assaulted a then-unnamed minor in August 2003.
He subsequently pleaded no contest to committing a lewd act with a 14 or 15-year-old and to oral copulation with a minor under 16. Bells’ wife of four years — Janet Von Schmeling — filed for divorce from him on April 20. and she appears to have primary custody of their son Jeremy Drake Bell.
Bell had previously said he was disappointed to see so many notable names appear at the courthouse in support of Peck during the sentencing — including actors Will Friedle, 47, and Rider Strong, 44 — in addition to a total of 41 others who wrote letters. on behalf of the abuser to the judge.
The docuseries, which aired its final episode on Sunday, April 6, promised to “pull back the curtain on an empire built by creator Dan Schneider that had an “undeniable hold on popular culture” in the 1990s and early 2000s.
The biggest bombshells from the Investigation Discovery series included allegations that Schneider “demoted” the staff before he was indicted on charges of gender discrimination, a hostile work environment and harassment.
His reputation was also marred by claims that he wrote “awkward sketches” that sexualized child actors – including Ariana Grande – something he has since denied in an apology interview issued since the documentary’s release.
Elsewhere, viewers were stunned to learn that there were three Nickelodeon employee child molesters – including Peck – who were sentenced to prison after engaging in sex acts with a male minor.