'All That' star Lori Beth Denberg calls out Nickelodeon executives for silencing her when she raised concerns about Dan Schneider
Lori Beth Denberg called out former Nickelodeon executives Brian Robbins and Albie Hecht on Instagram.
Denberg, who starred on "All That," said that she's speaking out because she wants accountability.
"They ignored and silenced me 25 years ago," she said. "They chose money over protecting children."
"All That" star Lori Beth Denberg is continuing to speak out about her negative experience at Nickelodeon and demanding accountability from the executives who were silent when she flagged concerns about Dan Schneider.
Denberg shared an image of herself Tuesday holding a photo of Brian Robbins, the executive producer and cocreator of "All That," and Albie Hecht, the former president of film and TV at Nickelodeon.
"BRIAN ROBBINS. ALBIE HECHT. Any outlet that rehashed my story from Business Insider @insiderbusiness and didn't print their names is complicit," Denberg captioned her Instagram post. "They ignored and silenced me 25 years ago. They chose money over protecting children."
Denberg was referring to her recently published interview with Business Insider reporter Kate Taylor. In the interview, Denberg detailed the power imbalance in her dynamic with Schneider, the head writer of "All That," and said that he put her in several uncomfortable and inappropriate situations.
In her Instagram caption, Denberg tagged multiple publications and reporters who wrote about her interview with BI but didn't name Robbins and Hecht.
"WHY ARE YOU PROTECTING THEM NOW? WHAT ARE YOU CHOOSING?" she said.
"Real people, children and adults, were badly hurt. Real accountability is what I'm speaking up for, so it doesn't continue to happen," Denberg added, tagging the Instagram accounts for Robbins, Hecht, Paramount Pictures, and Nickelodeon.
Denberg's Instagram post is her latest effort to urge people to take responsibility for the role they played in the experiences of child actors who worked for Nickelodeon. Investigation Discovery's docuseries "Quiet on Set: The Dark Side of Kids TV" detailed many of these troubling situations at the children's TV network.
Denberg didn't participate in the docuseries, but her interview with Taylor marked the first time the actor publicly discussed Schneider in detail.
While starring on four seasons of "All That" between 1994 and 1998, Denberg became friends with costar Amanda Bynes, who joined the series at 10 years old during season three. Bynes went on to star in her own series, "The Amanda Show," created and produced by Schneider.
Denberg said that she was concerned about Schneider's treatment of Bynes, then 13, who she described as appearing gaunt and exhausted on the set of "The Amanda Show.'"
Denberg said that she initiated a meeting with Robbins, whose company, Tollin/Robbins Productions, produced "The Amanda Show" and served as Bynes' talent manager. She said she was skeptical of Robbins because the executive had known Schneider for years and knew about Schneider's angry outbursts and demands for on-set massages.
Following the conversation with Robbins, Denberg said that she had a meeting with Hecht, the then-president of Nickelodeon Entertainment, in 2000. Denberg didn't tell Robbins or Hecht about her sexual encounters with Schneider but reiterated her concern for Bynes. Denberg said that afterward, Hecht told her that Bynes' filming schedules had been adjusted to alleviate exhaustion.
Denberg said she was later informed by a friend working on "The Amanda Show" that she was banned from the set after speaking to executives about Schneider.
Schneider parted ways with Nickelodeon in 2018. Years later, it was revealed that the network had launched two internal investigations due to concerns about Schneider's behavior in 2013 and 2017. The latter investigation found no evidence of inappropriate sexual behavior, but it did find proof of verbal abuse in the workplace. More recently, Schneider posted a video apologizing for his past behavior and the way he treated his employees.
Post-Nickelodeon, Hecht founded Spike TV and is currently the chief content officer at the digital media studio PocketWatch. Meanwhile, in April, Robbins was promoted to lead Paramount Global as co-CEO.
Business Insider reached out to Robbins and Hecht but did not receive an immediate response.
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