Jennie Garth has spoken about feeling uneasy around Dan Schneider while working on What I Like About You.
Garth appeared on the Armchair Expert podcast on April 13, where she reflected on her time on the sitcom and said she picked up “bad vibes” from the producer early on.
Although she co-starred alongside Amanda Bynes, Garth explained that she tried to keep communication about the show routed through co-creator Will Calhoun rather than dealing directly with Schneider.
Garth told the podcast: “I said to Will, like, ‘I would rather just communicate solely with you. I trust you. I think that you have my best interests in mind, and I don’t feel that way with your partner. So I’d rather just be with you’. And he was like, ‘No problem’.”
She went on to say that Schneider’s attention on the series focused more heavily on Bynes, who already had a long working relationship with him through earlier Nickelodeon projects.
Garth said: “She had worked with him a lot on The Amanda Show and all the things. So, he had hooked his wagon onto her.”
During production, Garth was 30, while Bynes was 16, and Garth also discussed what it was like sharing the set with a much younger co-star.
“I didn’t know how to be around a teenage girl. She taught me so much,” Garth said.
Garth has largely avoided discussing Schneider publicly, and told The Hollywood Reporter in 2024: “I don’t want to talk about Dan Schneider ever again in my life.”
That year also saw Investigation Discovery release a documentary series looking into controversy tied to Schneider’s time as a prominent producer at Nickelodeon.
Titled Quiet on Set: The Dark Side of Kids TV, the series examined behind-the-scenes conditions on kids’ shows including Sam & Cat, iCarly, Drake & Josh, Victorious, Zoey 101, and The Amanda Show.
The documentary included claims that Schneider allegedly allowed a harmful work environment. It also raised allegations that he allegedly belittled cast and crew members, oversaw scripts some felt were inappropriate for young performers, and behaved inappropriately toward young women.
Schneider has previously responded to the series, saying: “When I watched the show, I could see the hurt in some people’s eyes, and it made me feel awful and regretful and sorry.
“I wish I could go back, especially to those earlier years of my career, and bring the growth and the experience that I have now and just do a better job and never, ever feel like it was OK to be an asshole to anyone, ever.”
Nickelodeon’s former president of content and production, Russell Hicks, also issued a statement about Schneider, which said: “Dan cared about the kids on his shows even when sometimes their own families unfortunately did not.”
The statement added: “Every single thing that Dan ever did on any of his shows was carefully scrutinised and approved by executives at Nickelodeon.”