Following the ‘Quiet On Set: The Dark Side Of Kids TV’ docuseries, ‘Zoey 101’ star Matthew Underwood, who played Logan Reese on the show, is breaking his silence.
Many former Nickelodeon stars have come forward, accusing the network and producers of harassment while on set — including Drake Bell.
Now, after fans have been asking Underwood to speak on the documentary, he is claiming that his agent assaulted him and that he has been receiving death threats for “supporting p-dophiles”.
Matthew Underwood Responds To ‘Quiet On Set’ Docuseries
Instagram | Matthew Underwood
In a lengthy social media statement, the former Nickelodeon star dropped some bombshell allegations about his childhood friend’s stepdad and towards his former agent.
“I know many folks want me to respond to the ‘Quiet On Set’ documentary. I’m going to share something with you that I never thought I’d have to talk about publicly, as t’s honestly none of your business anyway,” he began.
“When I was 12 years old, I was groomed and molested by my best friend’s stepfather. I lost the best friends I’d ever had because I couldn’t spend any time with them without feeling the personal disgust and betrayal brought on by a man I trusted as a father to me,” the former ‘Zoey 101’ star added.
Matthew Underwood Says He Was S-xually Harrassed By His Agent
Instagram | Matthew Underwood
The statement continued:
“When I was 19, I was s-xually harassed and then assaulted by my agent at the time, who had spent a decent amount of time building trust with me as a friend and mentor. Again, my trust was betrayed and my self-image crushed. I reported him to the agency and he has since been fired – although he is still active in the industry. This experience provoked my move away from LA and ended my pursuit of acting.
Why am I telling you this? Well, lately, many people have been blowing up my email telling me they hope me and my mom die and that we burn in h-ll, I’m being called a p-dophile defender and all that jazz. I have spent many years rebuilding my self-image and those hateful words have little effect on me today. But, imagine many of my friends in the business are being equally harassed f they aren’t joining the chorus, so I’m sharing this with [the] hope that some of you can recognize that just because a person doesn’t shout from the rooftops that p-dophiles are bad or that people can suck – that does not mean they don’t have their own reasons for staying silent, good reasons, personal reasons.”
Matthew Underwood Says He Empathizes With Anyone Who ‘Has Been Taken Advantage Of’
Instagram | Matthew Underwood
The former Nickelodeon star continued to speak out, claiming that he has “extreme empathy for anyone who has been taken advantage of by people they trusted.”
Adding, “I hope they are all able to grow to love themselves and have great support from their family and friends in their journey of recovery. I also ask you all to take a few moments and consider why someone might not share their experiences publicly and not immediately shame them for reserving their right to privacy.”
When speaking on his experience working with Dan Schneider, who has been accused of abuse and creating a toxic work environment on set, Underwood says he “never had a bad experience working on set of a Nickelodeon show and I never had a bad experience with Dan [Schneider].”
“I have nothing to add to the conversation that anyone would care to hear,” he continued. “I like to believe people have the capacity to be better humans and Dan appears to recognize that he had been an a–hole in his past. I like to believe he if fully capable of being a creator and coworker everyone can enjoy working with. I have no expectation can enjoy working with. I have no expectation to work with him again, this is just me wanting good for anyone who wants to be better.”
Matthew Underwood Asks Fans To Be Kind
Instagram | Matthew Underwood
“So please, take a moment and consider that some people might not be making statements because talking about this kind of thing brings up memories and emotions that are difficult to deal with, and they have every right to be silent,” the former child actor continued. “I can’t believe I have to say this, but of course, I don’t f-cking support p-dophiles. Please stop wishing death upon my family and please reconsider harassing other actors who wish to maintain their privacy – you never know who has already been a victim of h-ll you’re wishing upon them.”
“We’re all feeling pain right now, and I can understand if you are angry, but harassing people who maintain their privacy and wishing death upon their families is no way to make this world better and safer for all of us,” he added in his caption of the post.
Matthew Underwood Clarifies Some Details
Instagram | Matthew Underwood
He clarified that his current agents are Lauren Green and Sam Hampton of Modern Artists Entertainment and are “incredible humans who are sincere, genuine, and smart professionals in this industry.”
“They have always listened to my concerns and watched out for my well being,” Underwood said of his agents. “I want to thank Lauren Green for literally having my back since I was 8 years old. The only period of my life that I wasn’t represented by her, was the year and a half I had this sh-tty experience with this other agent. If it wasn’t for Lauren and Sam, I would never have been on a screen again.”