‘Zoey 101’ Star Matthew Underwood Quit Show After Sexual Assault

Amid the Nickelodeon Quiet on Set: The Dark Side of Kids TV Docu-Series, Zoey 101 alum, Matthew Underwood, came forward and revealed that he left the acting industry after the tween show because he was sexually assaulted.

Content warning: Mentions of sexual abuse

On Saturday (Mar. 30), the Nickelodeon alum shared a lengthy statement via Instagram in which he revealed that he was assaulted by his agent at the time when he was 19 and previously by his best friend’s stepfather when he was 12. He described it as being “sexually harassed” and “assaulted” by a male agent, whom he did not name. He reported the abuse to the agency and the unidentified man was fired, however, he is apparently still working in the industry.

“This experience provoked my move away from LA and ending my pursuit of acting,” Underwood explained. After the series premiered, which details the abuse suffered by Nickelodeon child stars, including naming Zoey 101 creator Dan Schneider as an abuser along with several other crew members, Underwood’s phone has been blowing up, with people questioning why he hasn’t spoken out publicly since the show’s premiere.

“I imagine many of my friends in the business are being equally harassed if they aren’t joining in the chorus,” Underwood wrote, and noted that people have even labeled him a “pedophile defender.” Underwood explained that people can understand that “just because a person doesn’t shout from the rooftops that pedophiles are bad or that people can suck — that does not mean they don’t have their own reasons for staying silent, good reasons, personal reasons.”

Underwood confirmed that he “never had a bad experience working on set of a Nickelodeon show” and was not hurt by Schneider personally.

Hours after his initial post, Underwood returned to edit it and clarify that his current agents are the perpetrator. He also made a further statement on a Reddit thread regarding his initial post.

“I believe people are putting words in my mouth and making assumptions about my intentions with that part of my statement,” he began. “I know whatever I say will find a way to be twisted by someone, but my attention was unfortunately brought to this thread and I feel it’s necessary to try and clarify.”

Underwood explained that he empathizes with those who have “had experiences that made their lives and work more difficult, especially women who continue to be subjected to more b——t than I can even begin to imagine.” He wants to define his statement about believing in people becoming better humans and positively reinforcing change.

“I have immense sympathy for anyone who has struggled because of anyone else’s actions and I want to support them. I also recognize that this is a very complicated situation and right now, we all have an opportunity to decide how we are going to react to all of this. We can perpetuate hate with more hate, or we can be open to the possibility that humans can be better and offer an opportunity (albeit obviously an intensely scrutinized opportunity) to take a chance at being a better human,” he concluded.

If you or someone you know has been the victim of sexual abuse or violence, help is available through the RAINN website. To speak to someone on the phone, dial 1-800-656-4673.