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Victoria Justice is addressing her “complex” relationship with former Nickelodeon producer Dan Schneider. Two months after Quiet on Set: The Dark Side of Kids TV aired on Investigation Discovery, the Victorious alum, 31, opened up about her experience working with Schneider in a new interview, which was published on Wednesday, May 15.
“I’m not condoning any of his behavior,” Justice insisted to Marie Claire, before adding, “At the end of the day, my relationship with Dan is a very complex one: I met him when I was 12 years old, and he’s the person that gave me this big break. He completely changed my life. Most likely, I wouldn’t be here where I am today if it weren’t for him, and for him seeing something in me. For that I will always be grateful.”
The former Zoey 101 cast member also acknowledged Schneider’s apology, in which he admitted regretting his past behavior while working on various Nickelodeon sets.
“After watching his apology, I think he recognizes that he did a lot of things wrong,” Justice said, adding, “And I think if he could step back into a time machine, he would do a lot of things differently.” Nevertheless, Justice noted that she is “definitely one of the people on that list” that Schneider owes an apology to.
Justice got her big break in Zoey 101, before eventually landing the role as Tori Vega in Nickelodeon’s Victorious. Schneider worked as a producer on both shows.
While addressing the Quiet on Set docuseries, Justice pointed out that Schneider had a “very large ego” working on the network’s teen sitcoms. Furthermore, the actress felt that she was “treated unfairly” at times while working with Schneider.
“Something that was very evident in the documentary is that Dan had a very large ego, and sometimes that ego clouded his better judgment and affected the way he treated people,” Justice noted. “And there were times I felt like I was being treated unfairly.”
While appearing on Quiet on Set, multiple former Nickelodeon cast and crew members accused Schneider of creating a toxic work environment. As a result, Schneider filed a lawsuit against the producers of the ID doc. He subsequently responded to the allegations in a statement obtained by E! News.
“There is no doubt that I was sometimes a bad leader,” Schneider admitted in his statement. “I am sincerely apologetic and regretful for that behavior, and I will continue to take accountability for it. I have no objection to anyone highlighting my failures as a boss, but it is wrong to mislead millions of people to the false conclusion that I was in any way involved in heinous acts like those committed by child predators.”