Keke Palmer and her mother Sharon Palmer reflected on Keke’s work as a child star on Nickelodeon shows. Sharon called the atmosphere on the network’s sets “really weird” and “very cult-like,” while Dan Schneider was running multiple successful shows at the time.
The Emmy-winning actress, 30, on her Baby, this is Keke Palmer podcast On Tuesday, the difficult subject of the Investigation Discovery docuseries Quiet on Set: The Dark Side of Kids TV, which aired earlier this year, was discussed, and the allegations of misconduct against the 58-year-old Schneider.
The Illinois-born entertainer told her mother on the podcast, “I honestly remember you having a lot to say about Dan Schneider’s sets… I remember you had a certain feeling about Nickelodeon… I want to hear what you have to say.”
Keke played the eponymous role in 56 episodes on the Nickelodeon show True Jackson, VP from 2008 to 2011. (Schneider was not involved with the series.)
Sharon said she felt uncomfortable with the general atmosphere and behavior of the other parents in the Nickelodeon circle.
Keke Palmer, 30, and her mother Sharon Palmer reflected on Keke’s work as a child star on Nickelodeon shows under the direction of Dan Schneider, with Sharon calling the atmosphere “very strange” and “very cult-like.”
The Emmy-winning actress tackled the difficult subject of the Investigation Discovery docuseries that aired earlier this year, Quiet on Set: The Dark Side of Kids TV, on her podcast Baby, This Is Keke Palmer on Tuesday.
“Honestly, I found the whole vibe of Dan Schneider’s set very strange, very cult-like,” Sharon said.
Sharon said that “the parents were very secretive” and that she “thought they all took themselves way too seriously” and were obsessed with their children’s careers at the network.
Sharon said, “The whole conversation was, ‘Oh my God! What’s going to happen now? Did you hear they’re canceling this show? What’s going to happen now?'”
Sharon said the atmosphere was “always so hectic because of the cancelled shows,” while she “just saw Nickelodeon as a stopover.”
“You didn’t start out at Nickelodeon or Disney. You were blessed and fortunate enough to work in situations with adults and children.”
She continued, “My view of the entertainment industry wasn’t that Disney Channel or Nickelodeon were the end all be all, but a lot of parents felt differently.”
Quiet on Set: The Dark Side of Kids TV featured a number of interviews with people who previously worked on Schneider’s shows, including The Amanda Show, All That and Drake & Josh.
Former child actor Drake Bell made headlines in the special when he said he was sexually abused as a minor by acting coach Brian Peck, subsequently filing a complaint against him on two counts of sexual conduct with a minor.
Keke appeared in the eponymous role for 56 episodes on the Nickelodeon show True Jackson, VP from 2008 to 2011
The Illinois-born entertainer told her mother on the podcast, “I honestly remember you having a lot to say about Dan Schneider’s sets… I remember you having a certain feeling about Nickelodeon.”
Keke’s mother Sharon said: ‘My honest opinion is that I found the whole atmosphere of the Dan Schneider set very strange, very cult-like.’
Sharon said that ‘the parents were very secretive’ and that she ‘felt they all took themselves way too seriously’
Keke said she felt “absolutely over-controlled and confined at times and almost like I was in a prison” as a result of her mother’s “protective” attitude toward her
Sharon said: ‘When I saw Drake’s story, it broke my heart. I saw how his parents were set up and how they manipulated him.’
Sharon noted that Peck has tried to distance Bell from his father, and that she was moved to tears when she saw the documentary detail the situation.
Keke shared her own experiences with industry workers, such as agents and managers, who tried to come between her and her mother.
“In my experiences with you in this industry, I’ve had times where people have tried to push us away from each other or come between us,” the Bosses star said.
The Nope actress said her mother “would never let something like that happen,” which occasionally caused “tensions” between them.
“I definitely felt too controlled and confined and almost like I was in a prison at times,” Keke said. “But looking back, I feel like you were really just protecting me.”
Dan Schneider, who left Nickelodeon in 2018, filed a lawsuit in LA in May against Warner Bros. Discovery, calling the docuseries a “hit job” that cast him in a false light.
Schneider, who left Nickelodeon in 2018, filed a lawsuit in Los Angeles in May against Warner Bros. Discovery, calling the docuseries a “hit job” that cast him in a false light.
“While it is indisputable that two bona fide child molesters worked on Nickelodeon shows,” Schneider’s legal team said in court documents, “it is also indisputable that Schneider had no knowledge of their abuse, was not complicit in the abuse, condemned the abuse when it was discovered, and, most importantly, was not a child molester himself.”
Schneider’s lawyers continued: “But for the sake of clickbait, ratings and views — or, put another way, money — Defendants have destroyed Schneider’s reputation and legacy through false statements and the implication that Schneider is just that.”
DailyMail.com has contacted Warner Bros. for comment on the story.