Nickelodeon host Marc Summers walked out of Quiet on Set interview: ‘They lied to me’

Summers hosted the Nickelodeon game show ‘Double Dare’ from 1986 to 1993

Former Nickelodeon host Marc Summers says he walked out of his interview with the filmmakers behind Quiet on Set: The Dark Side of Kids TV after learning what the documentary would be about, claiming: “They lied to me.”

In the four-part series, former show writers and child actors, including Drake Bell, pull back the curtain to reveal a toxic underbelly of abuse, harassment, racism and sexism on the sets of Nickelodeon shows led by TV executive Dan Schneider.

As Variety reports, Summers explains during an upcoming appearance on Elvis Duran and the Morning Show that he was called and asked to be part of a documentary about Nickelodeon.

“They asked me what I thought of Nick, and the first 10 to 12 seconds, from what I understand, in this documentary is me saying all these wonderful things,” says Summers. “But they did a bait and switch on me.”

Summers continues: “They ambushed me. They never told me what this documentary was really about. And so they showed me a video of something that I couldn’t believe was on Nickelodeon. And I said, ‘Well, let’s stop the tape right here. What are we doing?’”

The Independent has contacted Maxine Productions for comment.

Marc Summers attending the Nickelodeon Kids' Choice Sports 2018 (Getty Images For Nickelodeon)

Summers, who hosted the Nickelodeon game show Double Dare from 1986 to 1993, says he walked out after learning that the series would focus on exposing Schneider’s behavior as well as Brian Peck’s alleged sexual assault of Drake Bell.

“I left. So I got a phone call about six weeks ago saying you’re totally out of the show. And I went, ‘Great.’ Then they called me about four weeks ago and said, ‘Well, you’re in it, but you’re only in the first part of it because you talked about the positive stuff of Nickelodeon,’” says Summers.

“What they didn’t tell me – and they lied to me about – was the fact that they put in that other thing where they had the camera on me when they ambushed me. And so, now we get into a whole situation about who’s unethical.”

Summers points out that he never met Schneider, as Double Dare was already off air by the period in question.

“Those people came in after and took over our studios. I never met the man, I have no idea about any of those things,” he says. “I mean, I know Kenan [Thompson] from Kenan and Kel, because we’ve done stuff together. But as far as anything that happened on that show with any of those people, I never met any of them. I didn’t know anybody. But it made it seem like I knew those people.”

A fifth episode of Quiet on Set is scheduled to air on 7 April. Titled “Breaking the Silence”, the episode will reportedly build “off the revelations explored in the first four episodes” and include a conversation led by host Soledad O’Brien on “where the industry can go from here”.