An ex-child star is making scathing claims about Dan Schneider and Nickelodeon, including accusing executives of withholding mental health treatment from Jennette McCurdy when her mom died.
Jack Salvatore, who played Mark Del Figgalo on “Zoey 101,” alleged on TikTok Thursday that he witnessed “high level conversations” he “wasn’t supposed to hear” about how Nickelodeon “didn’t want” McCurdy taking antidepressants “for fear that she might kill herself and make the network look bad.”
Page Six has reached out to Nickelodeon for comment but did not immediately hear back.
McCurdy’s mother passed away in 2013 when the actress, now 31, was starring on “Sam & Cat.”
She has since written about the alleged abuse she experienced because of her mother in her bestselling memoir, “I’m Glad My Mom Died.”
Page Six has reached out to McCurdy’s reps for comment about whether the former Nickelodeon star was privy to the alleged conversations about her mental health but did not immediately hear back.
Salvatore, meanwhile, also claimed in his explosive video that Schneider, 58, once pulled out a shotgun to “scare one of the writers when they were working at his house.”
“We could talk about the massages. We could talk about the fact that he would literally count his gold coin collection in front of his crew who has living paycheck to paycheck,” the former Nickelodeon employee, who worked alongside Schneider in the writers’ room for “Sam & Cat” and “Victorious,” further alleged.
Page Six has reached out to Schneider’s lawyer for comment on Salvatore’s claims but did not immediately hear back.
However, this is not the first time a former colleague has publicly slammed the disgraced TV producer.
Several former Nickelodeon alums spoke out in the recent documentary “Quiet on Set: The Dark Side of Kids TV,” including female writers Christy Stratton and Jenny Kilgen who claimed they were forced to share a salary and the former was allegedly once asked to simulate a sexual act in front of her then-boss.
Schneider was also accused of sexualizing child stars with inappropriate jokes in his scripts.
The TV shows creator finally apologized for his behavior on Tuesday and said that while watching the doc, he could see “the hurt in some people’s eyes,” which made him feel “awful and regretful and sorry.”
He claimed at the time, however, that he was not in control of overseeing his employees’ salaries.
For more Page Six you love…
A rep for Schneider also denied claims that he sexualized child actors, noting that there were always adults on set and the network executives were approving scripts.
“Everything that happened on the shows Dan ran was carefully scrutinized by dozens of involved adults, and approved by the network,” the spokesperson said.
Nickelodeon cut ties with Schneider in 2018 amid claims of abusive behavior on his sets. He walked away with a $7 million payout.
In his TikTok video, Salvatore, 34, praised “Quiet on Set” for doing a “really good job of uncovering the details of workplace toxicity specifically on Dan Schneider’s shows for Nickelodeon.”
He admitted he was a bit “afraid” to speak up himself, but said he has realized that the claims he made are “important and it needs to be said.”
Salvatore concluded in the caption of his clip, “We deserve a better grade of hero.”
