‘All That’ star Lori Beth Denberg accuses Dan Schneider of showing her porn, initiating phone sex when she was a teen
Former “All That” star Lori Beth Denberg has accused ex-Nickelodeon producer Dan Schneider of showing her porn, initiating phone sex and more while she was starring on the sketch comedy show as a teen.
Denberg, now 48, alleged to Business Insider Tuesday that Schneider first acted inappropriately with her when he invited her into his office to offer her support after a female producer spoke to her about her weight gain.
At the end of their conversation, she alleged he played her porn.
“I feel like that is the first time he preyed on me,” she told the publication. She was about 19 years old at the time and had been working for Nickelodeon for two years.
Denberg claimed Schneider, now 58, would watch porn with her several more times.
The “Zoey 101” creator also allegedly watched porn in her presence while she stayed at his Los Angeles house after filming for “All That” moved from Orlando, Fla. to Los Angeles.
She claimed to Business Insider that things went further one night as they were watching “Jeopardy!” They allegedly made a bet about who could solve the most puzzles, with a massage being the prize. After Schneider won, Denberg alleged that he fondled her breasts and put his mouth on them.
She claimed that by that time, they had spoken about sexual topics on the phone on numerous occasions and once had phone sex. The former child star claimed Schneider initiated it.
She also recalled the writer and producer bringing up her breasts at a dinner with writers and crew members. To diffuse the situation, she recalled jokingly throwing a piece of bread at Schneider who in return allegedly screamed at her and stormed off.
“I couldn’t have been more green,” Denberg recalled of her experiences with him. “I couldn’t have been more vulnerable.”
She also alleged Schneider would be aggressive toward her on set. She claimed he would snap out of nowhere and also change her lines last minute to throw her off her game. She said she felt it was a “power play” for him.
Denberg said she publicly came forward with her experiences so others would feel comfortable following suit. “There’s right and wrong, and there’s true and false,” she explained.
Schneider, who is currently facing several accusations of inappropriate behavior, told Page Six in a statement Tuesday that Denberg is “wildly” inflating her memories.
“Lori Beth’s accusations of me are wildly exaggerated and, in most cases, false,” he said.
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“As I have previously stated, there were times, particularly in the early years of my career, that I made mistakes and exhibited poor judgment as a leader,” he continued. “If I did that with respect to Lori Beth, I sincerely apologize to her. But I cannot apologize for things I did not do.”
Schneider also slammed the writer of the Business Insider article, Kate Taylor, who served as an executive producer on the bombshell “Quiet on Set” docuseries that debuted in March.
“The fact that an Executive Producer of Quiet on Set would pursue allegations regarding what may have happened between adults nearly thirty years ago — only a week after I filed a defamation lawsuit accusing Quiet on Set of being intentionally false and misleading — seems more than coincidental,” he noted.
“Quiet on Set” featured eye-opening stories from former ’90s children’s television stars who spoke about the toxic and abusive environments they often worked in. Drake Bell notably came forward as a survivor of sexual abuse at the hands of Nickelodeon’s former dialogue coach, Brian Peck.
In “Quiet on Set,” Schneider was accused of purposefully including sexually suggestive jokes and creating a toxic work environment for the kids on his shows.
Jenny Kilgen, a writer on “The Amanda Show,” claimed during the docuseries that Schneider often played porn in front of her and her colleagues.
After the docuseries dropped, the “iCarly” creator apologized for his past actions.
“Me facing my past behaviors, some of which are embarrassing and that I regret, I definitely owe some people a pretty strong apology,” he told BooG!E, who played T-Bo on “iCarly,” during a YouTube interview.
“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.”
Schneider sued “Quiet on Set” on May 1 for implying he sexually abused the child stars who worked for him.
