Raquel Lee Bolleau, who shared her experiences working on “The Amanda Show” as a child actor in “Quiet on Set,” said she is “done” with the entertainment industry after her recent experience with the docuseries.
In a TikTok video posted Wednesday, Bolleau expressed her frustration with the Investigation Discovery series, which featured interviews with several actors and former child stars who alleged abuse, inappropriate behavior and a toxic work environment when they appeared on some Nickelodeon shows Dan Schneider produced in the 2000s and the 2010s.
Following the docuseries’ release last month, Schneider apologized for some of his past behavior and the on-set atmosphere.
Bolleau said the “Quiet on Set” producers did not invite her to join a panel discussion with other former Nickelodeon stars for the show’s fifth episode, which aired Sunday.
Representatives for Bolleau and Investigation Discovery did not immediately respond to requests for comment. Maxine Productions, which produced “Quiet on Set,” and its parent company, Sony Pictures Entertainment, also did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
The “Quiet on Set” producers “did the same thing that the industry always does,” Bolleau says in the video, which had amassed over 300,000 views as of Thursday afternoon. “They get what they want from you and then they’re done.”
Journalist Soledad O’Brien interviewed the actors who appeared in the episode. She asked them about various issues that were brought up in the docuseries, as well as their thoughts about what the entertainment industry can improve on.
While Bolleau was not part of the group that was interviewed, the final episode included a previously unaired clip of her describing an alleged incident on set of “The Amanda Show.” She said she was “infuriated” after she was repeatedly spit on by Amanda Bynes during a sketch. She said she was told to “keep your cool” and try not to make the incident a problem.
A spokesperson for Bynes declined to comment on Thursday.
O’Brien showed the clip of Bolleau to “All That” actor Bryan Hearne and his mother, Tracey Brown, during a discussion about racism and representation on set.
Hearne said that he was unaware of the incident Bolleau recounted and that he had had only “one solid conversation” with her. However, he said, hearing Bolleau’s experience “hit me really hard.” His mother, Brown, called the incident “racist.”
In his response to the docuseries’ release, Schneider said that “diversity has always been very important” to him.
Hearne and Brown did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
Bolleau said producers informed her that the clip of her would be shown Sunday, the day the episode dropped. She said she wished she had been able to be part of the discussion with others.
I’m going to get back to my family, my businesses; that’s what I’m focused on. Because this industry? Y’all can have it.
— Raquel Lee Bolleau on the entertainment industry
“You want me to share my story, but you don’t want to involve me in the actual narrative of change,” Bolleau said.
She also claimed that the documentary’s producers did not tell her the premise of the series when they reached out to her.
“First of all, you don’t even tell me what type of documentary that I’m going to be a part of,” she said. “You never questioned whether or not this is going to be triggering for me.”
It has been “very, very difficult” for Bolleau to face the traumatic experiences that happened to her when she was a young actor, she said.
“I can’t do it anymore,” she said at the end of the TikTok video. “I’ve given it all I can. I don’t have nothing else. The show, I don’t want to talk about it. I’m going to get back to my family, my businesses; that’s what I’m focused on. Because this industry? Y’all can have it.”
She posted the video days after former “Double Dare” host Marc Summers also said he was misled about the docuseries’ premise. Summers appeared on Elvis Duran’s program “The Elvis Duran Show” to promote his off-Broadway show “The Life and Slimes of Marc Summers,” which tells his life story, including his time at Nickelodeon.
In the interview, Summers said the docuseries producers “did a bait and switch” on him.
“They ambushed me,” he said. “They never told me what this documentary was really about.”
Summers said he left the “Quiet on Set” interview after producers showed him a video and explained the premise of the series. It was not clear from the interview or from the docuseries what clip he was shown.
Mary Robertson and Emma Schwartz, who directed the series, previously responded to Summers’ comments in a joint statement provided by Investigation Discovery.
“We are clear with each participant about the nature of our projects,” they said.
Source: | This article originally belongs to Nbcnews.com
