Quiet on Set: The Dark Side of Kids TV co-directors Mary Robertson and Emma Schwartz have denied Marc Summers‘ claim that he was “ambushed” into appearing on the Investigation Discovery docuseries.
“We are clear with each participant about the nature of our projects,” the helmers said in a statement to The Hollywood Reporter on Friday.
Their response comes shortly after the former Double Dare host appeared on The Elvis Duran Show, where he alleged that the directors did not disclose the nature of the feature, which launched March 17 and 18 to big viewership, when asking him to appear.
“I got called by these folks saying they wanted to do a documentary on Nickelodeon and so I said sure,” he explained.
Summers said that, while being interviewed for what has become a hit docuseries, he made positive comments about his time on the network, but claimed the Quiet on Set directors “did a bait and switch” on him.
“They ambushed me,” he claimed. “They never told me what this documentary was really about. And so, they showed me a video of something that I couldn’t believe was on Nickelodeon and I said, ‘Whoah, let’s stop the tape right here. What are we doing?’”
He said the Quiet on Set team then explained what the nature of the series was about — a piece that would go on to uncover allegations from former creator/producer Dan Schneider‘s reign at the network as showrunner for various hit shows, as well as Brian Peck, a former dialogue coach, sexually assaulting Drake & Josh star Drake Bell.
Summers decided to leave the production, saying it wasn’t what he’d signed up for.
“I got a phone call about six weeks ago saying, ‘You’re totally out of the show’ and I went, great,” recalled Summers. “Then, they called me about four weeks ago and said, ‘Well, you’re in it, but you’re only in the first part of it because you talked about the positive stuff about Nickelodeon.’”
He continued, “What they didn’t tell me, and they lied to me about, was the fact that they put in the other thing where they had the camera on me when they ambushed me, so now we get into a whole situation about who’s unethical.”
Summers also said he “never met” Schneider, as “those people came in after [Double Dare] and took over” the Nickelodeon studios when his stint as host had wrapped up.
He said the only person he knew who was on the network during Schneider’s time there was Kenan Thompson, but “as far as anything that happened [mentioned on Quiet on Set] to any of those people,” he “never met any of them.”
Summers’ comments come two days before the premiere of Quiet on Set‘s bonus fifth episode, Breaking the Silence, which will feature interviews with returning former Nickelodeon stars Bell, along with Giovannie Samuels and Bryan Christopher Hearne, and a new interview with All That alum Shane Lyons, who will be speaking for the first time on his experiences at the network.
“There’s a whole system that’s even bigger than our story, and we really are seeing a movement form about what should happen next in our industry,” Schwartz recently told THR in a chat about the impact of Quiet on Set and why they mobilized to quickly deliver another episode.
“We’re devoted to telling this story. We’re passionate about telling the story. We don’t think we’re done telling this story,” added Robertson.
Breaking the Silence premieres Sunday, April 7, at 8/7c on ID. Quiet on Set: The Dark Side of Kids TV is now streaming on Max.
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