Matthew Underwood, a shining star of the renowned Nickelodeon show Zoey 101, who walked away from the limelight due to a traumatic incident.
Matthew Underwood, the charismatic actor who won hearts as Logan Reese in the popular teen sitcom Zoey 101, had a promising career ahead of him. The show aired from 2005 to 2008, and Matthew’s performance was applauded by critics and fans alike.
However, the seemingly perfect world of Underwood wasn’t as it appeared. He recently opened up about a horrific incident that led him to withdraw from acting. In a lengthy Instagram post, Underwood revealed that he was sexually assaulted by his agent when he was just 19.
“I was sexually harassed and then assaulted by my agent at the time, who had spent a decent amount of time building trust with me as a friend and mentor,” he shared. “My trust was betrayed and my self-image was crushed. I reported him to the agency and he has since been fired — although he is still active in the industry. This experience provoked my move away from L.A. and ended my pursuit of acting.”
Underwood’s revelation sent shockwaves through the entertainment industry. His fans were quick to show their support, while others expressed their anger towards his former agent. Unfortunately, the agent’s identity remains undisclosed in his statement.
The actor also mentioned the constant harassment he faced from fans who wanted him to comment on allegations of abuse and toxicity at Nickelodeon. These allegations, brought to light via the recent documentary “Quiet on Set,” sparked a huge controversy.
In his Instagram post, Underwood also shared another heartbreaking incident from his past. He wrote about being groomed and molested by his best friend’s stepfather when he was just 12 years old. This incident led to the loss of his closest friends and a deep sense of betrayal and disgust.
Post revelations, Underwood faced criticism for not immediately speaking out against Zoey 101 creator Dan Schneider and other Nickelodeon employees. Many called him a “pedophile defender,” blowing up his email with hateful messages. However, he retorted by saying that he had spent many years rebuilding his self-image and that these hateful words have little effect on him today.
In his statement, Underwood urged people to understand that not everyone who remains silent supports wrongdoings. He stated that some people have their own reasons, personal and valid, for not speaking up.
“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.”
Despite the controversies, Underwood maintained that he had a positive experience working on Nickelodeon shows, including with Dan Schneider. He stated, “I never had a bad experience working on set of a Nickelodeon show, and I never had a bad experience with Dan.”
The documentary “Quiet on Set” brought forth personal accounts from several former child stars, including Drake Bell, who accused Nickelodeon dialogue coach Brian Peck of sexual assault. Peck was sentenced to 16 months in prison in 2004 after pleading no contest to two counts of child sex abuse.
The spotlight of the documentary was also on Schneider, who parted ways with the cable channel in 2018. Following the premiere of the documentary, Schneider apologized for his behavior after being accused of “sexualizing” child stars on various Nickelodeon shows.
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