Nickelodeon child star Bryan Hearne posts bombshell and reveals that his castmates were “tortured” by adults and forced to do disgusting things on the set of ‘Everything’

In a brand new documentary titled “Silence on Set: The Dark Side of Children’s Television,” actor Bryan Hearne joins former child actors equivalent to Giovonnie Samuels and Drake Bell to discuss the traumatic experiences they experienced while working at Nickelodeon in the Nineties through 2010 yr.

Hearne opened up about painful memories from his time as a child actor on the set of “All That.” The comedy series was billed as “Saturday Night Live for teenagers,” but behind the scenes and on camera, Hearne witnessed racist slurs, tokenism and degrading situations.

Hearne, now 35, was a teen when he joined the solid of “All That” in seasons 7 and 8, appearing in 16 episodes from 2000 to 2002. While the jokes were accompanied by peals of laughter, Hearne was embarrassed by some of the skits and his work there has haunted him ever since.

These terrifying revelations are coming to light recent documents “Silence on Set: The Dark Side of Children’s Television” premiered on Investigation Discovery on March 17 and 18. In it, Hearne and other former child actors recount their harrowing experiences on several popular Nickelodeon television shows from the late Nineties and early 2000s. Many of these shows were created or produced by Dan Schneider, who began in 1993 as a producer and author on “All That” and went on to produce “The Amanda Show,” “Drake & Josh,” “iCarly,” and “Zoey 101” . Schneider left the network in 2018 following an internal investigation into his alleged verbal abuse and demanding behavior.

In “Quiet on the Set,” Hearne revealed the racist atmosphere he experienced as one of the few black child actors employed at Nickelodeon at the time. While filming All That, Hearne recalled an interaction with an adult wherein he was called a “piece of charcoal” during a discussion about the costume. “Such comments are harmful. They stick with you” Hearne told People magazine in a recent interview.

He was also solid in racially stereotypical roles, as when he played a teenage “drug dealer” in a single skit. In one other skit, Hearne had to play a rapper named “Lil Fetus” who rapped “yo yo yo yo embryo” while wearing a flesh-colored leotard.

“I used to be already in an uncomfortable position being in the leotard. It’s by no means what I’m used to,” he told People, adding that he felt he was treated differently than non-Black actors and that he had a “non-existent” relationship with Schneider.

But the worst happened in a recurring episode titled “On Air Dare,” modeled after the competition show “Fear Factor.” In the ID documents, Hearne talked about the dangerous and downright disgusting challenges he took part in as a 13-year-old. In one stunt, he was covered from head to toe in peanut butter, which was then licked off by a dog. Looking back on the experience as a 35-year-old adult, he described the scenario as “a weird guy’s awkward fantasy.”

Above all, Hearne wished he could have stopped it: “The most uncomfortable thing was watching your castmates basically get tortured,” he said in the documentary. “If there’s one thing on set that makes me want to shout ‘stop’, it’s ‘On-Air Challenges.’

He further described in an interview with People magazine: “We felt like we couldn’t say no. It was a really uncomfortable situation and after a while we felt like we were just part of this torture chamber.”

According to the Los Angeles Times, other child actors allegedly struggled with predatory sexual behavior on several of Schneider’s hit Nickelodeon shows, which included many convicted pedophiles on the crew. The Times reported that “‘All That’ member has described himself as a ‘full-blown pedophile’ and was ultimately sentenced to six years in prison for two crimes, including one for lewd acts on a child involving an unidentified child actor from “The Amanda Show.”

On March 19, Schneider responded to the allegations made by former child stars who worked with him. During a 20-minute conversation with BooG!e, who played T-Bo on Nickelodeon’s iCarly, Schneider said: “The last two nights have been very difficult to watch. I face my past behaviors, some of which are embarrassing and which I regret. I definitely owe some people a pretty strong apology.”

He continued: “When I watched the show, I saw the pain in some people’s eyes and it made me feel terrible, sorry and regretful. I wish I could return, especially to the earlier years of my profession, bring the growth and experience I actually have now, just do a greater job, and never, ever feel prefer it’s okay to be an a**hole to anyone, ever.”

Over the years, many child stars have opened up about the price they paid for fame. However, young black actors are particularly vulnerable to racist abuse and harassment, not to mention unequal pay. Although existing protections for youngsters have been strengthened since Hearne starred in “All That,” young artists are still exempt from federal labor laws and must rely on state laws to protect them (17 states haven’t any specific laws). More needs to be done, but showing reality in documentary series like “Silence on Set” is a step in the right direction.