Keke Palmer And Her Mother Unpack ‘Quiet On Set’ And Her Experience At Nickelodeon: “People Tried To Push Us Away From Each Other”

Quiet on Set: The Dark Side of Kids TV has spurred several former child actors to reflect on their own experiences working in film and television. But Keke Palmer ‘s mother recently shared her own candid thoughts on the “weird” environment she experienced at Nickelodeon when Palmer was helming her own show.

During a recent episode of Palmer’s podcast Baby, This Is Keke Palmer , the actress and her mother, Sharon, looked back on their experiences being on set at Nickelodeon.

“I honestly do remember you having a lot to say about the Dan Schneider sets,” Keke said. “I remember you feeling a way about Nickelodeon.”

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Sharon responded, “My honest opinion is I thought the whole atmosphere of the Dan Schneider set was very weird, very cultish. The parents were very secretive, and I honestly thought they all took themselves way too seriously.”

Palmer worked on Nickelodeon from 2008 to 2014 when she led her own sitcom, True Jackson, VP , and voiced a character in the Nickelodeon revival of Winx Club .

She did not work with Schneider during her time on the network. But the television writer faced several accusations in the Quiet on Set doc for creating a toxic work environment and potentially writing inappropriate jokes and storylines for children actors.

Keke admitted that she sometimes felt “confined” by having her mother on set with her, but doesn’t regret it in hindsight.

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“In my experiences with you in this industry, I had moments where people tried to push us away from each other or try to come in between us,” she said. “You never would allow that kind of thing to go down. It created tension in our relationship – I definitely felt overly controlled and confined and almost like I was in a prison sometimes. But when I look back, I feel like you were really just being protective of me.”

The actress and her mother also reflected on the shocking revelation that Drake Bell had been sexually abused by Brian Peck, an acting coach who was often on set who estranged Bell from his father.

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Sharon said she could recall several people trying to drive a wedge between her and Keke early on in her daughter’s career. “When I saw the Drake story, it just broke my heart because I could see how his parents got trapped,” she said.

She later explained that she had a different perspective on Keke’s time at Nickelodeon than many of the other parents.

“I always looked at you being at Nickelodeon as being a stopping station. You didn’t get your start on Nickelodeon or Disney,” Palmer’s mom said. “You were blessed and fortunate enough to work in adult situations and kid situations. My mentality about the entertainment business wasn’t that Disney Channel or Nickelodeon was the end all to be all, but a lot of the parents did.”

Schneider has since denied the accusations leveled against him and has filed a defamation lawsuit against the directors, claiming the doc implied that he was a predator and has made it “virtually impossible” to find work.

In a statement made after filing the lawsuit, he claimed Quiet on Set “went beyond reporting the truth and falsely implied that I was involved in or facilitated horrific crimes for which actual child predators have been prosecuted and convicted.”

If you or someone you know needs to reach out about sexual abuse or assault, RAINN is available 24/7 at 800-656-HOPE (4673), or online at RAINN.org .

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