Amid Drake Bell revealing in the docuseries Quiet on Set: The Dark Side of Kids TV that he was sexually abused by former Nickelodeon dialogue coach Brian Peck, more former child actors are opening up about their experiences on their show’s sets.
Allie DiMeco, who starred in The Naked Brother’s Band, has shared a TikTok detailing an incident where she felt forced to kiss a much older co-star despite voicing she didn’t want to do it.
DiMeco said she was “stressed” while watching the ID docuseries as she relived through “trauma” while filming the Nickelodeon show.
“There was an episode where Rosalina ‘cheated’ on Nat and kind of kissed a French guy,” she recalled. “He’s a 30-year-old man. I’m sorry, I couldn’t even watch it. It gives me f***ing the ick and it honestly gives me PTSD.”
“I’m watching this Quiet on Set documentary, and it’s talking about how integral and vital it is to create — especially when it’s a kids cast — to create an environment where kids feel comfortable to say ‘No’ or ‘I don’t feel comfortable with this,’” the former Nickelodeon star continued. “And I’m like, ‘Yeah, maybe they do express that though, it’s also more important to create an environment that listens to the kids and actually does not make them do things when they don’t want to do them.’”
DiMeco said that she “told [producers] many times that I didn’t want to do it. My mom was very against it and they pretty much made me feel like I was going to lose my job, that I might be fired if I didn’t do it. It was weird.”
DiMeco said she was 14-15 when the scene took place and was 30+. Jake Hertzog is the actor DiMeco shared the scene with, and his age is not entirely clear. Multiple online sources indicate Hertzog was born in 1986, which would have made him about 21 at the time the scene was filmed.
Deadline has reached out to Nickelodeon and the show’s creator for comment.