Over the past few decades, many stories have come out of children being emotionally and sexually abused in the entertainment industry. There are many different points of views when it comes to children being able to work within the entertainment industry. Believe it or not, but this does affect everyone in their own way by knowing someone who acts, knowing someone wanting to act or even just watching kids’ TV and not knowing what's going on.
The “Quiet On Set” documentary that came out in 2024 addresses what has happened behind the scenes on Nickelodeon. There have been a few adults on set working with kids that have allegedly sexually assaulted the kids and nothing was really done to them. A girl named in the documentary as Brandi, who was a former actress for Nickelodeon, immediately left after an incident with Jason Handy. This involved him sending Brandi explicit material when she was only 11 years old. She was not the only one though. There were over 1,700 images of young little girls, and it took about a decade to get him locked up. And that was not the end of it. It was only the beginning. Drake Bell, who is known for his role in “Drake & Josh” was sexually abused by Brian Peck for some time. Peck ended up getting locked up for only 16 months and immediately after getting released he was able to get back on set for a Disney show, although Variety magazine reported that he didn’t have direct contact with any cast or crew and was fired when they learned of his guilty conviction.
This is only a peek of what happened behind the scenes for the kids on Nickelodeon. However, Nickelodeon is not the only one in the entertainment industry that has been claimed to do horrific things to children. Disney has also had some issues with how they treat their child actors emotionally. They have been accused of overwhelming the kids in the industry, down to high levels of stress and pressure. Child actors give up a lot of their time with friends and family to focus on their dream, which isn't always a bad thing, but they tend to rarely have time alone, some have their first kiss on camera and they have to maintain a certain image going into public places. With all of this happening to kids while being on set, when they grow older 10-15% of them turn to drugs and 25% of them die because of the drugs, According to NSDUH which stands for National Survey Drug Use and Health.
This is only how they are treated on set by the directors and other people around them not at home. Some parents abuse their children to do better in the workplace and bring money home with them. Jennette McCurdy is just one of these many child actors that spoke up about it. She wrote a book that addresses the abuse her mother did on her and the abuse she went through while working as a teen in the entertainment industry. The books came out in 2022 called “I'm Glad My Mom Died” however she's the only one who wrote a book speaking of the abuse that has occurred in their homes Ariel Winter, Taylor Momsen, Gary Coleman, Judy Garland and Macaulay Culkin also have spoken out along with many more.
There is also another show that came out in 2020 called “My Truth: The Rape Of 2 Coreys” this is will show the dark side of kids being on Tv. Not only that but show what happens to kids in the industry and how they both were treated. Plenty of kids have different stories of the experience of being in the entertainment industry. This can help us as kids,adults and teens better understand what truly happens to other kids and some of your own children working in this kind of environment.
Being an actor or actress in the entertainment industry can be harmful in the toxic environment they are around. Especially if the adults on set aren’t speaking up for them and mentoring them and creating a good example for them. Adults that are on set with the children working with them can speak up for them more and protect them. Even the parents on set need to stop thinking about their kids future and think about how their child feels in that moment. As viewers we can put a lot on child actors and actresses even when they are adults. Instead we should be more understanding and get their word out there to the world.