Nickelodeon's Zoey 101 star Matthew Underwood reveals he was molested and sexually abused as a teen: Former actor, 33, slams people branding him 'pedo defender' for not speaking out about Dan Schneider allegations

Zoey 101 star Matthew Underwood has revealed that he was repeatedly molested as a child actor, as he defended his silence amid the swirling allegations against Nickelodeon boss Dan Schneider.

The 33-year-old, who played Logan Reese in four seasons of the hit show, said he had received a torrent of hateful messages for not speaking out following the abuse claims exposed by the Discovery docuseries Quiet on Set: The Dark Side of Kids TV.

Former child stars including Drake Bell and Alexa Nikolas detailed how they were preyed on by staffers and accused Schneider of bullying, sexism and racism.

But Nickelodeon's Underwood said many had good reasons for staying silent - as he revealed that he was forced out of the industry by the sexual abuse he endured.

'When I was 12 years old I was groomed and molested by my best friends' stepfather,' he wrote on Instagram.

'When I was 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. 

'Again, 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 LA and ending my pursuit of acting.'

Underwood, who reprised his role as Logan in the 2023 rom-com Zoey 102, said that 'many people have been blowing up my email', and that he had been labelled a 'pedophile defender' by some critics for his silence.

'I imagine many of my friends in the business are being equally harassed if they aren't joining in the chorus,' he wrote on Instagram.

'So I'm sharing this with hope that some of you can recognize 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 did not name the agent he accused of abusing him and insisted he would not join the backlash against Schneider.

I never had a bad experience working on set of a Nickelodeon show and I never had a bad experience with Dan,' he wrote. 'I have nothing to add to the conversation that anyone would care to hear.

'I like to believe people have the capacity to be better humans and Dan appears to recognize that he had been an a**hole in his past.

'I like to believe he is fully capable of being a creator and coworker everyone can enjoy working with.

'I can't believe I even have to say this, but of course I don't f***ing support pedophiles.

'Please stop wishing death upon my family and please reconsider harassing other actors who wish to maintain their privacy — you never know who has already been a victim of the hell you're wishing upon them.'

Schneider, who began working at the network in 1993, is said to have 'launched the careers of child actors who became major stars' including Miranda Cosgrove, Jamie Lynn Spears and Ariana Grande.

But he was later flooded with allegations before being sued over accusations of gender discrimination, hostile work environment and harassment - many of which were divulged in the new documentary.

Child safety activists claim the channel was infiltrated by predators who saw the power it gave them as a way to get close to their victims.

And court records show it employed or worked with five child molesters as well as two others accused of pedophilia.

Molesters include Jason Handy, a Nickelodeon production assistant who had sexual contact with a nine-year-old girl; and Ezell Channel, hired as a production assistant at the cable channel after a child sex offense conviction, then arrested for sexually assaulting an underage teen at the studio.

Marty Weiss, a talent manager who placed clients on top Nickelodeon shows, was later convicted for 'lewd acts' with a 12-year-old male client.

And Cody Longo, late star of TeenNick 2012 show Hollywood Heights, was accused of sexual assault of a 9-year-old girl in Colorado in 2019 and pleaded guilty to a lesser charge two years later.

The HBO documentary Quiet on Set: the Dark Side of Kids TV also detailed the conviction of former Nickelodeon dialogue coach and actor Brian Peck, who molested child star Drake Bell when he was 15.

He went on to work at Disney after his conviction.

Bell himself was later convicted of distributing child porn, after allegations emerged that he groomed and sexually abused a 15-year-old.

Schneider, 58, admitted last week that had previously overstepped professional boundaries and conceded he owed 'some people a pretty strong apology.'