Emma Roberts says Quiet on Set docuseries made her 'really sad': 'Kept me up at night'

Emma Roberts, the actress and former child star, has expressed her deep dismay after watching the docuseries Quiet on Set: The Dark Side Of Kids TV. The 33-year-old star shared her reaction in an interview, describing her feelings of being “horrified and shocked” by the disturbing revelations of child abuse from former Nickelodeon stars.

“I was completely horrified and shocked because that was not my experience,” Roberts told Variety. “It made me really, really, really sad that that was happening to people that I literally saw often and had no idea.”

Roberts, who starred in her own Nickelodeon show Unfabulous from 2004 to 2007 starting at age 13, reflected on her positive experiences working with the network. She highlighted the supportive environment created by her showrunner, Sue Rose, and the constant presence of her mother on set as key factors in her protection.

“The showrunner we had was this amazing woman named Sue Rose. And I didn’t realize at the time, but a female showrunner back then was not very common,” she said. “But that was my intro into working on a TV show. Also, my mom was with me 24/7, and even I would be like, ‘You don’t have to be here all the time,’ she was like, ‘I do actually. I’m not letting you out of my sight. You’re not going to a fitting by yourself when you’re 13 years old.’”

Roberts expressed profound sadness for her peers who experienced abuse, emphasizing the need for better protections for children in the industry. “I just feel like children need to be protected on sets, as do adults, and I feel like we’re working towards a better work environment in that sense. But yeah, that documentary really kept me up at night,” the actress said.

Quiet on Set: The Dark Side of Kids TV reveals troubling accounts from several former child actors who experienced a toxic culture and abuse on children’s television shows in the late 1990s and early 2000s, many of which were produced by Dan Schneider. Among the disturbing allegations are claims by actor Drake Bell, who spoke about being sexually assaulted by a Nickelodeon dialogue coach, and accusations of sexism against Schneider by two female writers from The Amanda Show.

In 2018, an internal investigation into these abuse allegations led to Schneider's departure fromNickelodeon, though he has denied any misconduct.

In a statement released in March, Nickelodeon addressed the alleged behaviours on past production sets, emphasising their commitment to maintaining a safe and professional workplace.

“Though we cannot corroborate or negate allegations of behaviours from productions decades ago, Nickelodeon as a matter of policy investigates all formal complaints as part of our commitment to fostering a safe and professional workplace environment free of harassment or other kinds of inappropriate conduct,” the network stated.

“Our highest priorities are the well-being and best interests not just of our employees, casts and crew, but of all children, and we have adopted numerous safeguards over the years to help ensure we are living up to our own high standards and the expectations of our audience."