Matthew Underwood, who starred Zoey 101 on Nickelodeon as a teenager, he talked about an incident that made him decide to quit acting.
The now 33 year old took Instagram on Friday to share that he was once assaulted by his former agent when he was 19 years old.
The former actor’s revelation comes amid the release of Silence on the set: The dark side of children’s televisiona documentary series that examines the toxic culture behind the scenes of popular children’s shows.
“When I was 19, I was sexually harassed and then assaulted by my agent at the time, who had spent a good amount of time building trust in me as a friend and mentor. “Once again, my trust was betrayed and my self-image was crushed,” Underwood wrote. “I reported him to the agency and he has since been fired, although he is still active in the industry. This experience caused him to move me away from Los Angeles and end my pursuit of acting.”
Underwood later said he decided to share his story because “a lot of people have been ruining my email” and calling him a “pedophile advocate” after the publication of Silence on setwhich places Dan Schneider (who directed Zoey 101) under fire for alleged abuse.
“I imagine many of my friends in the business are being similarly harassed if they don’t join the chorus, so I share this in the hope that some of you can recognize that just because a person doesn’t shout from the rooftops that pedophiles are bad or people are disgusting, that doesn’t mean they don’t have their own reasons for staying silent, good reasons, personal reasons,” he continued. “I have extreme empathy for anyone who has been taken advantage of by people they trusted. I hope everyone can come to love themselves and have great support from their family and friends on their recovery journey.”
Speaking about her experience on the show, Underwood wrote: “I have never had a bad experience working on the set of a Nickelodeon show and I have never had a bad experience with Dan. “I have nothing to add to the conversation that anyone would like to hear.”
Underwood played the character Logan Reese in Zoey 101 from 2005 to 2008. He recently reprized his role in the 2023 film. zoey 102.
About Schneider, Underwood says, “I like to believe that people have the ability to be better humans, and Dan seems to recognize that he had been a jerk in his past. I like to believe that he is fully capable of being a creator and a coworker that everyone can enjoy working with. I have no expectations of working with him again, I just want good for anyone who wants to be better.”
Underwood also mentions in his post that he was allegedly “groomed and sexually abused” by a friend’s father at age 12.
He captioned his post with a note that made it clear that none of his current agents are the accused.
“To ensure there is no confusion, I want to make it clear that my current agents Lauren Green and Sam Hampton of Modern Artists Entertainment are incredible human beings, sincere, genuine and intelligent professionals in this industry,” he wrote.
“They have always listened to my concerns and looked after my well-being. I want to thank Lauren Green for literally supporting me since she was 8,” Underwood continued. “The only period of my life where she didn’t represent me was the year and a half I had this shitty experience with this other agent.”
“If it wasn’t for Lauren and Sam, I would never have been on screen again,” he concluded.
Silence on the set: The dark side of children’s television now streaming on Max.
