Kel Mitchell Reveals On-Set Fight With Nickelodeon’s Dan Schneider
By Movieguide® Contributor
Kel Mitchell starred in the Nickelodeon hit TV series ALL THAT and KENAN & KEL and revealed that during his time on the shows, he was often at odds with Nickelodeon screenwriter, Dan Schneider.
Per Variety, “Dan Schneider allegedly yelled at him in a closet on set once when he was 18 or 19 years old. Mitchell’s story is the latest misconduct allegation made by a former Nickelodeon actor against Schneider. The recent Investigation Discovery documentary series QUIET ON SET included several other actors alleging mistreatment by Schneider during his tenure at Nickelodeon.”
A part of Movieguide®’s review for QUIET ON SET reads:
QUIET ON SET: THE DARK SIDE OF KIDS TV is an important five-part documentary exposé streaming on Max. The documentary miniseries discusses the abuse occurring on several Nickelodeon programs produced by Dan Schneider, who got his start starring on ABC-TV’s popular sitcom HEAD OF THE CLASS in the late 1980s. As he succeeded in producing hit after hit for Nickelodeon, Schneider allegedly became more volatile and abusive with the increase of his power. Episodes Three and Four focus on a case involving the dialogue and acting coach, Brian Peck, for the program DRAKE & JOSH, who was convicted of abusing the program’s star, Drake Bell.
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.
“They left us with the head writer, Dan Schneider. So he’s writing, and me and him kind of bump heads a little bit,” Mitchell said while on an episode of the “Baby, This is Keke Palmer” podcast. “I remember me and Dan had a big argument on set. He was like, ‘Let’s go over here to this room right here, in this closet.’ He closed the door, and he just took off, you know, just yelling all this wild stuff.”
He continued: “Being an adult at this point, I had a decision to make, you know what I mean? I was just like, ‘Okay, either we are going to fight or either I’m going to leave,’” the actor added. “And so that’s what I did. I left the situation.”
While on the podcast, Mitchell discussed his relationship with his counterpart, Kenan Thompson.
“I remember he’s saying that when he got the show KENAN, he was excited because he felt like KENAN & KEL was my show,” Mitchell said. “And when I first heard it, I was kind of hurt by it because I was like, ‘No bro.’ Like I never thought of it in that way. I’ve always thought of it as it was both of us. Because I never looked at it like, ‘Oh. This is my show.’ I’m like this is us together. But then being in this business, some friends and things get lost. So, I end up being the type of person where it was like, okay. I’m gonna do me.”
Mitchell and Thompson reunited on SNL a few years ago, praying backstage before their appearance. Movieguide® reported:
“That was awesome! Such a fun blessed night!” Mitchell wrote on a recent instagram post. “Thank you @nbcsnl for letting me come rock with you all! Amazing cast and crew! Epic night with my bro @kenanthompson and Yo!! @keke you did such an amazing job as host!! You rock Sis!!! Super talented! Check out a few of these behind the scenes pics from set. God I’m so grateful! ??? Proverbs 16:3 Commit your works to the Lord [submit and trust them to Him], And your plans will succeed [if you respond to His will and guidance].”
In one of the pictures, Mitchell and Thompson have their heads bowed in prayer together.
Following his time on Nickelodeon, Mitchell became a licensed pastor.
“I remember I was praying really hard like I always do and I heard the Lord speak loud and clear to me like, ‘This is the time to do it,’” he said. “’I want you to be a youth pastor but also still continue to work in the other gift that I gave you which is also in the entertainment business ’cause I need you to be there for both and show my faith in both.’ And so I was like ‘yeah, I’m here for you Lord. Let’s do this.’”
He now uses his platform to encourage his fans and young followers in their walk with Christ.
“They really need the love of Christ,” Mitchell said of the younger generation. “They really need that love in their life to help them. And I really feel like once the youth understand how God feels about them…[but] when they step into this Word and they hear about how much God loves them and that they are a part of a royal family and they invite him into their hearts, it can really change things.”
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