In the wake of the recent documentary series “Quiet on Set: The Dark Side of Kids TV,” former Nickelodeon host Marc Summers is at odds with filmmakers Emma Schwartz and Mary Robertson.
Mr. Summers, who hosted Nickelodeon’s “Double Dare” program from 1986 to 1993, claimed in an April interview on “Elvis Duran and the Morning Show” that he walked out on his interview for the documentary, saying the filmmakers didn’t tell him what the series was really about.
But Ms. Schwartz and Ms. Robertson assert that they were transparent with all participants regarding the project’s intentions.
Former Nickelodeon star Drake Bell came forward in the documentary as the victim of Mr. Peck’s abuse.
“The vast majority of our participants have left the project feeling incredibly happy,” Ms. Robertson said in the May 7 episode of Variety’s “Awards Circuit“ podcast.Ms. Schwartz echoed this sentiment, saying that “nobody ever walked out on set on any of the interviews in ‘Quiet on Set.’”
Summers Says ‘They Ambushed Me’
In his interview for ”Elvis Duran and The Morning Show,” Mr. Summers shared his side of the story about his involvement with the documentary.“They asked me what I thought of Nick, and the first 10 to 12 seconds, from what I understand, in this documentary is me saying all these wonderful things. But they did a bait and switch on me,” he said.
The filmmakers then showed Mr. Summers a clip from a Nickelodeon show that aired several years after he left the network. The clip, which featured a young teen girl, appeared sexually suggestive.
“They ambushed me,” he said. “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, ‘Well, let’s stop the tape right here. What are we doing?’”
After his interview for the documentary, he had a series of phone calls with the filmmakers, he said. First, Mr. Summers was informed he was cut from the documentary. Then the filmmakers said they were including only the portions in which he spoke positively about Nickelodeon.
“What they didn’t tell me—and they lied to me about—was the fact that they put in that other thing where they had the camera on me when they ambushed me,” he said. “And so, now we get into a whole situation about who’s unethical.”
The Epoch Times contacted Mr. Summers for a statement but did not receive a response by press time. Ms. Schwartz and Ms. Robertson could not be reached for comment.
