'All That' star Giovonnie Samuels says Dan Schneider reached out to her before 'Quiet on Set' aired and asked her to publicly support him
Giovonnie Samuels said that Dan Schneider asked for her support before the release of "Quiet on Set."
Samuels was a cast member on three seasons of Nickelodeon's "All That."
"I told him I was terrified of him," Samuels recalled.
Former "All That" star Giovonnie Samuels said that executive producer and writer Dan Schneider reached out prior to the release of "Quiet on Set" and asked her to voice her support.
Samuels and "All That" costar Bryan Hearne reacted to Investigation Discovery's docuseries "Quiet on Set: The Dark Side of Kids TV" during a bonus fifth episode released on Sunday night. Samuels was a cast member on "All That" during seasons seven through nine and Hearne starred on the sketch comedy series during seasons seven and eight.
During an interview with journalist Soledad O'Brien, the actors said that they received an overwhelming amount of support since sharing their experiences working as child actors at Nickelodeon.
Samuels also revealed that she heard from Schneider, who was accused of fostering a toxic and hostile environment on the sets of his shows. Schneider has since apologized in a video released in March after the first four episodes of "Quiet on Set" aired.
"I got a phone call," Samuels said in the doc. "He reached out a week before the documentary aired. He asked if I could give a quote of support."
Samuels said that Schneider knew she was part of the docuseries.
"He was like, 'I love Gio, she's great, she's nice. Great, she could tell my side,'" Samuels said.
"I don't know what possessed him," Hearne said.
Samuels said that Schneider contacted her because years after "All That," she guest starred on an episode of "Henry Danger," one of Schneider's last shows before he exited Nickelodeon.
"He was like, 'You had a good time on set, right? Right?'" Samuels recalled.
"I told him I was terrified of him," she added.
O'Brien then asked if Schneider was surprised by her response.
"I don't know," Samuels replied. "I said, 'You have the power to make people stars. And I was intimidated by you. I wanted to do a good job.'"
Samuels also said that she and Hearne felt tokenized as the only Black actors during their seasons of "All That."
"I was told, 'You're so talented, we don't know what to do with you. Let's just kind of stick you anywhere,' which was why I came up with sketches and ideas to help," she said.
Business Insider has reached out to Schneider but did not receive an immediate response.
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