Child Stars

"All That" alum Lori Beth Denberg claims Dan Schneider acted inappropriately when she was a young adult ... allegations that he says are blown out of proportion, or outright untrue.

In a new interview with Business Insider, Denberg details multiple accusations against Schneider -- including the claim he showed her porn and initiated phone sex when he was the head writer of "All That" -- where she was a cast member between 1994 and 1998.

Denberg says this all started around her 19th birthday ... when she says Dan invited her to a meeting and showed her porn clips -- including one scene where a woman performed oral sex on a donkey. FWIW, similar claims over the porn were also made on 'Quiet on Set.'

Robin Williams really was the nicest guy in Hollywood ... 'cause one of the child stars from "Mrs. Doubtfire" says he stuck up for her ... this after she got expelled as a teen.

Lisa Jakub -- who played one of Robin's onscreen daughters in the 1993 comedy -- stopped by fellow 'Doubtfire' alum Matthew Lawrence's "Brotherly Love Podcast" this week -- where she shared how she was kicked out of school while filming their flick.

She explained she was attending high school in Canada at the time -- but had to be on set to shoot the movie, which meant she'd be out of school for a good while ... an arrangement she says they were cool with at first, until they weren't ... and told her not to come back.

Bill Maher has no kids, but he was all about them Friday night as he RAILED on Hollywood and others for putting them at risk.

The 'Real Time' host began with 'Quiet on the Set,' lambasting Nickelodeon for putting child actors in highly-charged, sexual skits.

He then pivoted to Disney, and it quickly became political. Maher noted how Ron DeSantis was skewered as a "hick" and a "bigot" for going after Disney, which Maher says is like an aphrodisiac for pedophiles.

"All That" star Bryan Hearne is not impressed with Dan Schneider's apology ... telling TMZ the TV creator's mea culpa was a whole lot of BS.

We caught up with the former Nickelodeon child star at LAX, where Bryan blasted Dan's apology video as "crazy" ... calling it an attempt to squash controversy caused by the 'Quiet on Set' docuseries.

ICYMI ... Dan apologized for his past behavior in a 19-minute YouTube video after he was accused of misconduct by those who worked on many of his hit Nickelodeon shows. He previously denied toxic workplace claims in a statement through his reps.

It might not be long before another Vaughn is circling the basepaths in the MLB ... 'cause Mo Vaughn tells TMZ Sports his 11-year-old son is showing signs of being a serious baller on the diamond!!

The former AL MVP said this week Lee Vaughn has impressed him so far when he's gotten in between the white lines at ballparks ... telling us, "I honestly think he has a lot better tools than I ever had."

Mo said his offspring bats left, throws right ... and he can run, too!

The former Red Sox star, though, isn't rushing anything with his son right now ... explaining to us he knows how much can change in the baseball world in just a matter of years.

"There's such a marathon of life and game and mindset and many things mentally you have to go through," Mo said. "So, let's just see."

Of course, it wouldn't be unprecedented if Lee were to make it to the Big Leagues. MLB rosters are currently littered with sons of former stars -- including Vladimir Guerrero Jr., Fernando Tatis Jr. and, most recently, Jackson Holliday.

If Lee does want to take the baseball route seriously ... he will have some great training from Dad, as Mo has been a helluva coach already for prospects through his Vaughn Sports Academy and Perfect Game program.

But, again, Mo stressed he's going to be super patient with this whole process.

Steve Burns dice que no tenía ni idea de que algo andaba mal en Nickelodeon mientras trabajaba en la cadena. Esto, en medio de las acusaciones hechas en "Quiet on Set".

La estrella de "Pistas de Blue" habló con "Today" sobre la saga y dice que aunque empatiza con aquellos que podrían haber tenido malas experiencias en Nickelodeon, él personalmente no estaba al tanto de lo que estaba pasando, al menos desde su vereda.

Él señala que su programa fue filmado en Nueva York, mientras que los programas de los actores menores de edad fueron grabados en Los Ángeles, por lo que en realidad no había ninguna coincidencia entre las producciones.

Steve añade: "No tengo ninguna idea particular de todo eso. Me enfrento a ello como cualquier otra persona, con horror y angustia. Es terrible ver cómo se desarrolla. No sé qué más decir, aparte de que es desgarrador".

Continúa diciendo: "Tiene que ser insondablemente doloroso. El hecho de que esto sea lo que todo el mundo está hablando ahora, simplemente me rompe el corazón".

Es interesante que Steve diga esto, porque incluso antes de que se le pidiera su opinión al respecto parece que ya había estado informando al público y a los fans de Nick mucho antes. Un popular video de TikTok en que le pregunta a la gente cómo están refleja eso.

Steve publicó el video unos días después de que se emitiera "Quiet on Set", así que parece que se refería al documental y le estaba preguntando a todos cómo se sentían tras lo que se había detallado.

Steve es la última estrella de Nickelodeon que se refiere al documental. Un montón de ex actores han estado hablando de él en las últimas semanas y las reacciones son más o menos similares, todo el mundo está horrorizado y sorprendido por lo que están escuchando.

Steve Burns says he had no clue anything was amiss at Nickelodeon while he was at the network -- of course, this amid all the allegations made in 'Quiet on Set.'

The "Blue's Clues" star spoke with 'Today' about the whole saga ... and he says while he sympathizes with those who might've had bad experiences at Nick -- he personally didn't have knowledge of what was allegedly going on from his end of things.

He notes his show was filmed in NY, while the other shows these child actors were a part of had been shot in L.A. ... so he says there wasn't really any overlap between the productions.

The parents of those who claim to have been victimized on 'Quiet on Set' had no real shot to protect their kids -- so says Soledad O'Brien, who slams the industry.

We talked to the veteran journo -- who's set to host a moderated convo with some of those who were interviewed on 'Quiet on Set' in a new episode airing this weekend -- and she gives us her two cents about where some of the parents land in this equation in terms of blame.

She gives us an interesting take ... while she says many in the public believe some of these child stars might've been groomed at Nickelodeon ... Soledad argues the parents were too.

Frankie Muniz says his parents split up while he was pursuing his career in Hollywood as a child star -- something that clearly affected him ... 'cause he got emotional talking about it.

The actor-turned-race car driver got emotional on a recent episode of Australia's "I'm a Celebrity ... Get Me out of Here!" when he was asked how his fame on "Malcolm in the Middle" (and everything else around that time) impacted his family unit.

As it turns out, Frankie says stardom changed a lot of things in his household -- including the fact that his parents got a divorce as he and his mother, Denise, moved to L.A. so he could act.

Frankie Muniz dice que sus padres se separaron mientras él estaba persiguiendo su carrera como actor infantil en Hollywood, algo que claramente le afectó porque se emocionó mucho al hablar de ello.

El actor convertido en piloto de carreras se emocionó en un reciente episodio del programa australiano "I'm a Celebrity ... Get Me out of Here!", cuando le preguntaron sobre cómo su fama en "Malcolm in the Middle" había impactado a su familia.

Resulta que Frankie dice que el estrellato cambió muchas cosas en su casa, incluyendo el hecho de que sus padres se divorciaron cuando él y su madre Denise se mudaron a Los Ángeles para que él pudiera actuar.

Matthew Underwood is speaking up on 'Quiet on Set' -- and while he says he himself was never mistreated while working as a child star ... he claims he's been harmed in the industry.

The "Zoey 101" star posted a lengthy statement Friday on his social accounts that addressed why he hadn't said anything publicly about the new doc -- which chronicles different allegations levied by former child stars with the network -- and he explains his rationale.

MU writes, "We all want to live in a better world. That requires all of us to treat each other with empathy and not make assumptions about people’s personal experiences."

The stars of "Ned's Declassified School Survival Guide" are admitting they messed up by making some jokes about 'Quiet On Set' ... claiming they didn't understand the magnitude of the docuseries until now.

Devon Werkheiser, Lindsey Shaw and Daniel Curtis Lee -- who starred in the hit Nickelodeon show during its three-season run -- took some time on a podcast episode released Thursday to address controversial jokes they made about the shocking documentary.

In their new episode, Werkheiser and Lee try to explain their comments to fans ... saying they weren't talking specifically about Drake Bell ... but in the confusion of the moment, it came out that way.

ICYMI ... the trio was on TikTok Live when they were asked to comment on the new television project full of claims of child sexual abuse at the network.

They say a lot -- and acknowledge they probably shouldn't joke about the series -- but Devon also uses the phrase "give me your holes" during the clip ... and Drake Bell responded on social media, blasting the three.

The stars say they were multitasking, and the whole moment was simply chaotic ... but they know they shouldn't have made any jokes -- especially now that they've seen the doc.

Amanda Bynes isn't interested in talking about her child star past -- especially for the doc about Nickelodeon -- because she simply didn't have a bad experience ... TMZ has learned.

Sources with direct knowledge tell TMZ … both Amanda and her parents -- Rick and Lynn -- were approached about telling their stories on "Quiet On Set: The Dark Side of Kids TV," but we're told they all opted not to participate.

Our sources say Amanda -- whom we're told did not watch the documentary -- declined to sit for an interview on account that she felt she just didn't have anything to share that would further their cause. In other words, she didn't go through what the 'QOS' subjects did.

On the contrary, our sources tell us Amanda is grateful for what she was able to do with her Nickelodeon start -- as we're told she acknowledges that it launched her career back then.

As for her parents ... our sources say they're private people and wanted to stay out of the spotlight for this. Unlike Amanda, we're told they actually watched the documentary and were both saddened and disgusted by the allegations.

But again, we're told the family unit as a whole hadn't experienced what these other child actors did while at the network ... which is why it didn't make sense for them to sit for it.

As we all know, Amanda starred on "The Amanda Show" from 1999 to 2002 alongside Drake Bell -- who revealed he was abused by dialogue coach Brian Peck. Peck was credited on some episodes of 'TAS' as well.

Some of Drake's former costars -- like Josh Peck who also appeared on "The Amanda Show" -- have come out in recent days ... saying they watched the documentary and are lamenting the horrors their costars claim they dealt with.

BTW ... one of the 'Quiet On Set' episodes focuses heavily on Bynes, including how she was discovered at the Laugh Factory in the mid-90s -- so, it does seem a little odd that Amanda isn't interested in peeping the series at all ... especially since she's a focal point in it.

Of course, it goes without saying ... Amanda's been through her own personal saga -- conservatorship, etc. -- and in the aftermath of that, it's clear she wants to leave the past in the past and focus on other ventures ... including her burgeoning cosmetology career.

Bryan Hearne ha hablado, y ha comparado el trabajo en Nickelodeon con una cámara de torturas, afirmando que fue víctima de racismo.

El actor infantil -que apareció en 16 episodios del programa de sketches "All That", así como otros programas de Nick- trabajó con Investigation Discovery para la docuserie "Quiet on Set: The Dark Side of Kids TV", y People reveló gran parte de lo que dijo.

Una de las mayores revelaciones es que Bryan -un hombre afroamericano- dice que un adulto le llamó "pedazo de carbón" mientras trabajaba para la red. No está claro cuál fue el contexto del comentario, pero, en cualquier caso, es algo bastante horrible,

También habla de haber sido elegido para papeles estereotípicamente racistas, dice que interpretó a un traficante de drogas en el programa y también a un rapero llamado Lil Fetus, que le implicaba llevar un leotardo de color carne... básicamente desnudo ante la cámara.

Hearne dice que Lil Fetus es una de las muchas cosas incómodas que se vio obligado a hacer mientras trabajaba para Nick. En otra ocasión, tuvo que dejar que un perro lamiera mantequilla de maní de su cuerpo.

Bryan dice que no sentía que podía tener una discusión con los adultos a su alrededor acerca de su incomodidad, y comparó toda la experiencia Nickelodeon a estar en una cámara de tortura4s.

Por supuesto, "Quiet On Set" ha estado en todas las noticias y redes sociales recientemente porque Drake Bell reveló que fue abordado de manera inapropiada por el entrenador de actuación Brian Peck mientras trabajaba para la red.

Bell dijo que trabajó con la policía para obtener una confesión después de que él dijera que había sido agredido sexualmente por Peck varias veces. Finalmente, Peck se declaró inocente de realizar un acto lascivo con un menor de 14 o 15 años y de copulación oral con un menor de 16 años.

Hearne aparece en el tráiler del documental revelando que Bell contaría su historia, con Bryan diciendo que inmediatamente se preguntó quién fue agredido una vez que Peck fue expuesto.

Bryan Hearne is speaking out ... comparing working for Nickelodeon to a torture chamber -- and claiming he faced blatant racism on the job.

The child actor -- who appeared on 16 episodes of the sketch show "All That" as well as other Nick shows -- sat down with Investigation Discovery for the docuseries "Quiet on Set: The Dark Side of Kids TV" ... and People revealed a ton of what he's apparently going to say.

One of the biggest revelations ... Bryan -- a Black man -- says an adult called him a "piece of charcoal" while he worked for the network. Unclear what the context of the comment was -- but, regardless a horrible thing to say to a teenager.

BH also reportedly talks about being cast in stereotypically racist roles -- he says he played a drug dealer on the show and also a rapper called Lil Fetus which involved him wearing a flesh-toned leotard ... essentially looking naked on camera.

Hearne says Lil Fetus is one of the many super uncomfortable things he was forced to do while working for Nick ... also the time he had to let a dog lick peanut butter off his body.

Bryan says he didn't feel he could have a discussion with the adults around him about his discomfort ... and likened the whole Nickelodeon experience to being in a torture chamber.

Of course, 'Quiet On Set' has been all over the news and social media recently because Drake Bell revealed he was molested by acting coach Brian Peck while working for the network.

Bell said he worked with police to get a confession from Brian on tape after he says he'd been sexually assaulted by Peck multiple times. Peck eventually pled no contest to performing a lewd act with a 14 or 15-year-old and oral copulation with a minor under 16.

Hearne's in the trailer for the documentary revealing Bell would tell his story ... with Bryan saying he immediately wondered who was assaulted once Peck was exposed.