Jailbait tube

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Out of all the prolific TV show creators, Dan Schneider amassed internet infamy through 4chan memes alone. His lawsuit suing the Quiet on Set producers even included one of them:
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These are memes that predate MeToo, his ousting from Nickelodeon, Kate Taylor's expose and the Quiet on Set documentary.
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For the longest time, Schneider's negative reputation online had been regurgitated as a joke with no concrete and credible evidence. Regarding allegations of sexual impropriety, a reddit comment from 2021 said:

NO ACTRESSES HAVE SPOKEN UP ABOUT DAN!! Where are you getting your information? Facebook?? Gossip YouTube channels??.

This was after Angelique Bates and Alexa Nikolas had spoken up about their experience on set and before Jenette McCurdy's book came up. For some reason child actors talking about being physically, emotionally or financially exploited by adults, whether it's by entertainment industry professionals or even their own parents wasn't enough. And any inappropriate behavior is hand-waved as creepy but not necessarily considered as a typical MeToo story.
Criminal allegations do require victims and witnesses speaking up. Yet some of these rumors stemmed from blind items from a popular blog called Crazy Days and Nights ran by an anonymous entertainment lawyer.
The twitter account of An Open Secret said:

4chan only copied the work of (a)entylawyer & our film on the subjects of Nickelodeon & Dan Schneider.

This isn't entirely true. Forums had noticed the sexual content on Schneider's shows before An Open Secret was released. And CDAN's blind items weren't widely spread because they were credible on their own. Many celebrities had a variety of gossip surrounding them that didn't become commonly known. Rather, users pointed out the blinds as additional justification for finding Nickelodeon shows creepy.
Some commentary tried to blame the unproven claims of CSA towards self-righteous SJWs or conspiracy minded right wingers. However, it's not political beliefs that gave the entertainment gossip legs - but a demographic that catered to barely legal porn.
\"I am beginning to realize how creepy this show actually is :/ so many situations obviously designed for creepy old guys to drool over barely legal meat o_o\"
4chan itself is far from being a bastion of morality, but an amalgamation of intrusive thoughts dressed up as edgy humor. It hosted threads sexualizing teenage girls in movies and tv shows. Reddit on the other hand, gained its mainstream reputation through Anderson Cooper calling out jailbait content. Both sites documented why older guys were watching shows made for kids.
Scenes from Schneider's shows ended up in NSFW subreddits. A post from a banned subreddit likened one shot to a 90s tv show erotica. And because reddit used to have a predominantly male userbase, some of it were posted in default subreddits as a funny meme.
In 2012, some users expressed concerns:

This actually airs on tv for young children. Poor kids having all kinds of weird feelings down there.

But most of the comments reassured themselves they're not being creepy:
\"She's over 18 so all is well no matter if you're her age or not ;)\"
The show caters to a tween audience. From a 2010 New York Times article:

For those who have not had any children between the ages of 5 and 15 anytime in the last decade, Mr. Schneider is the creator of a string of hits for the Nickelodeon children’s cable channel.

Another user claimed to work for the same show said:
\"I am currently a PA on this show...I remember when they did this shoot. Couldn't believe the outfits they were wearing, but I also wasn't complaining...\"
From a 2022 Business Insider article:

Two people recalled Schneider fighting with Nickelodeon over teenage actresses' costumes on "Victorious," with Schneider — who signed off on all outfits — campaigning for the skimpier options.

The result of Schneider winning the costume disputes ended up as creepshot fodder on the internet.
From a 2005 New York Times article:

To gauge the response of his viewers, Mr. Schneider said, he reads Internet message boards. "I think that they want to see kids that reflect what their friends are like," he said. "But they also want to see kids that are like the friends they wish they had. I can't tell you how much work we put into casting this show."

Ask yourself whether it is truly kids who wanted to see young girls in short skirts. And whether it is truly kids writing in message boards in 2005, where most of the internet was anonymous.
There comes a point when the excuse that everyone else was ok with it, nobody stopped it and nobody's removing it stops becoming a defense of character but an admission of a systemic problem.
Sexualizing teenagers is not unique to Schneider nor Nickelodeon. It is pervasive in society that is experienced by the average person, capitalized through marketing where sex sells, and further normalized throughout the internet. And in this specific instance, served to a mainstream audience under the guise of kid's television.
Some of the worst rumors about Dan Schneider will not withstand scrutiny. We may never truly know what actually happened behind the scenes. But what we do know is what was broadcasted to the public. And some of the shows Schneider created does not stand the test of time. The very same shows are what's going to define his legacy - not blind items, not internet memes, nor implications by a documentary.

Avicii