The documentary “Quiet on Set” exposed years of child abuse on Nickelodeon during the 1990s and early 2000s. And since it came out, there have been widespread calls for people who worked on the network — particularly people who may have been abused themselves — to speak out.
Former child performer Piper Curda a Disney mainstay during the 2010s, not a Nick star — but the actress, who has since transitioned to adult roles, had a strong response to those calls: “Cut that s–t out, stop doing that.”
Curda offered that commentary in a video posted Monday night on TikTok, where she described the pressure on Nickelodeon stars to speak out and reveal their own potential abuse stories as “Insane behavor.
She explained that she wasn’t offering the commentary due to any “influx of inquiries” aimed at herself.
“I just want to, I don’t know, ask you guys to be less weird,” she said.
“The people that are badgering other Nickelodeon stars to say something, to add to the conversation,” Curda continued, “what are you expecting? Like, them to come out with their own abuse story? That’s insane behavior. You would never just walk up to anybody in your school and ask them their most dramatic moments or tell them to add to a conversation that they have, so far, not been a part of.”
Curda was referring to situations like a recent episode of “The View,” where during a discussion of “Quiet on Set,” cohost Sunny Hostin argued that people who may know anything about that period in Nickelodeon should speak up. “If you are a true ally, that you do speak out,” she said, even as she conceded that doing so “takes a lot of bravery and courage.”
The actress rejected that kind of thinking. “I would say, stop assuming things. Stop assuming that every kid that was on Nickelodeon went through the same thing that the kids in this documentary did. Maybe they did, but that’s kind of none of your business. And they can talk about it if they want to, and they don’t have to if they don’t want to,” she said.
Curda also urged people not to assume “that anybody that was in the business as a child went through the same thing. Unfortunately, a large amount of them did. But not all of them. So begging someone to come up with a story that they might not have — it’s again, really weird behavior.”
“Give people the space and the respect that you would if you knew them in real life, and not just as this entity, or idea or idol that you watched on TV when you were a kid,” Curda said. “Because they are people, real people who went through some real shit. So mostly, this video is just me asking to be less weird, and a little more cool.”
Watch the whole clip below:
@thesecondcurda child acting is weird but so is begging someone to advertise their trauma!!! be better!!! #fyp ♬ original sound – piper curda
Curda isn’t the only Disney star to weigh in. Over the weekend, “The Suite Life” actress Kim Rhodes recorded a TikTok video of her own with a sweet message offering support to those who need it.
@kimrhodes4real I havent watched #quietontheset but i have heard from many of you who have been devastated by it. I wish… it were different. But your hearts matter and I’ll love them while they break. #mom #trauma ♬ original sound – kimrhodes4you