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'People That I Literally Saw Often': Emma Roberts Recalls Her Time On Nickelodeon's Unfabulous Amid Shocking Quiet On Set Documentary
Emma Roberts reflects on her time as a child actor on Nickelodeon's Unfabulous and contrasts it with the disturbing revelations from the Max documentary Quiet on Set: The Dark Side of Kids TV.
Trigger Warning: This article includes references to sexual abuse.
Before Emma Roberts became famous for her role in American Horror Story in 2013, she was already well-known for her Nickelodeon show Unfabulous.
Recently, Emma talked about her experiences as a child actor, especially after watching the Max documentary series Quiet on Set: The Dark Side of Kids TV, which exposed disturbing allegations from former Nickelodeon stars.
Emma Roberts recalls being protected by her mother on Nickelodeon sets
Emma Roberts shared with Variety that she was shocked and saddened by the revelations in the documentary. Roberts said, “I was completely horrified and shocked because that was not my experience, It made me really, really, really sad that that was happening to people that I literally saw often and had no idea.”
Emma credited her positive experience on Unfabulous to her mother, Kelly Cunningham, and the show's female showrunner, Sue Rose. She noted that having a female showrunner was rare at the time.
Emma explained, “For me, my show, Unfabulous, the showrunner we had was this amazing woman named Sue Rose. And I didn’t realize at the time, but a female showrunner back then was not very common. But that was my intro into working on a TV show."
Emma's mother was always by her side on set, ensuring her safety. Emma recalled, “Even I would be like, ‘You don’t have to be here all the time,’ she was like, ‘I do actually. I’m not letting you out of my sight. You’re not going to a fitting by yourself when you’re 13 years old.'”
Emma believes the industry is improving for both children and adults, but the stories from the documentary deeply affected her. Roberts expressed, “It makes me really sad… That documentary really kept me up at night.”
Emma Roberts expresses wish to work with aunt Julia Roberts
Emma also mentioned her famous aunt, Julia Roberts, who has been a supportive figure in her career. Although they haven't found the right project to work on together, Emma expressed her desire to collaborate with Julia. The Madame Web actress said, “It’s never been the right thing. She’s the best, and I want to do something with her, we send each other books and talk about stuff but it hasn’t been right.”
The documentary featured actors from shows like All That, The Amanda Show, and Zoey 101 sharing their troubling experiences working with Dan Schneider, a prominent Nickelodeon showrunner per several outlets including US Weekly. It also revealed that Drake Bell was sexually assaulted by a Nickelodeon employee in 2004 per Variety.
Common Disclaimer: If you need support or know someone who is struggling with domestic violence or assault or abuse, please reach out to your nearest mental health specialist, NGO or speak to someone about it. There are several helplines available for the same.
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