Candace Cameron Bure Responds to QUIET ON SET: ‘So Tragic’
By Movieguide® Contributor
Candace Cameron Bure visited her old show, THE VIEW, where she shared her reaction to the bombshell docuseries QUIET ON SET: THE DARK SIDE OF KIDS TV.
“It’s so tragic, it’s horrific and disgusting,” Bure said of the show’s revelation of the unhealthy and even abusive environments behind the scenes of some of the popular kid’s shows of the ’90s and early 2000s.
One of the most shocking details of the show is that actor Drake Bell, who appeared in Nickelodeon’s DRAKE AND JOSH, was manipulated and sexually abused during that time by his dialogue coach Brian Peck, who was sentenced to 16 months in prison for his crimes.
Part of Movieguide®’s review reads:
QUIET ON SET makes clear that children between 8 and 15 are extremely vulnerable and need to be protected from exploitation. Every aspect of this series is important for exposing the underside of Hollywood. QUIET ON SET has a very clear, strong moral worldview, with a few brief mentions of prayer. Although there’s very little visual sex or violence and practically no foul language in QUIET ON SET, MOVIEGUIDE® advises extreme caution because of the subject matter.
“I just felt like the fact that Drake was able to share his story was so brave. But my heart breaks for him. My heart broke for his parents, trying to protect [him] and not always seeing the signs,” Bure said.
Bure, who became famous as a child actor, said she didn’t have the same experience as Bell but knows “there’s a good plenty that have.”
“My parents were always around. They were so protective,” the FULL HOUSE star said.
She credits their presence for keeping her from the pitfalls that many child actors face and thinks that docuseries is an important expose of some of those dangers.
“I really think that it was good. It’s just more awareness that we can protect the next generation from that happening,” she said.
Kenan Thompson, who appeared in Nickelodeon’s ALL THAT and KENAN AND KEL, also reacted to QUIET ON THE SET. He said that the events documented in the show happened after he left Nickelodeon but that “his heart goes out” to the victims.
“It’s a good thing that the doc is out, and it’s putting things on display that need to be, stories that need to be told for accountability’s sake,” Thompson said on the TAMRON HALL SHOW.
Bell’s former costar, Josh Peck of DRAKE AND JOSH, also showed his support for Bell, saying he reached out to him after watching the docuseries.
“I finished the QUIET ON SET documentary and took a few days to process it,” Peck said. “I reached out to Drake privately but want to give my support for the survivors who were brave enough to share their stories of emotional and physical abuse on Nickelodeon sets with the world.”
Bell expressed that he doesn’t fault parents for the abuse that happened behind the scenes but that they were just as new to the entertainment industry as the children were, as Movieguide® previously reported:
“We hear a lot ‘Where were their parents? If I was there—where were their parents?’ And you have to understand—we’re kids. Some of these were our first jobs. Some of these were our parents’ first time on a set, and they’re just learning along with us,” Drake Bell said.
“To say ‘Oh it’s the parents’ responsibility’—they’re just learning along with us and don’t have the experience on these movie sets to be able to push and pull their weight,” he added.
The documentary showed how these child actors suffered emotional abuse and trauma, along with incidents of physical abuse. Rather than blame their inexperienced parents for not protecting them, the actors believe it was a failing of the system not to have trained experts on set to step in when things got uncomfortable.
“I don’t think it’s on the parents. I think that it’s important that there are people on set…who are tasked to give care and caretake to the emotions of the children on set,” said Bryan Hearne. “That’s the most important thing. The parents can only do so much.”
