Leon Frierson says he felt uncomfortable saying no to such roles, as he was afraid of upsetting producer Dan Schneider.
Plenty of shocking allegations about Nickelodeon producer Dan Schneider have come out over the years, including claims of inappropriate jokes that young actors were made to perform on television. The March 2024 docuseries Quiet on Set delves into the alleged toxic conditions behind the scenes of some of the best-loved kids’ shows of the late ’90s and early 2000s, many of which were Schneider’s shows.
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One such bit that was explored in the docseries was from All That, a sketch comedy show that aired from 1994 to 2020 and launched the careers of stars like Nick Cannon and Amanda Bynes. Though plenty of the sketches from that time period have soured with age, “Nose Boy” is one that many are appalled to have overlooked.
Leon Frierson in ‘Quiet on Set’
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Leon Frierson recounts how his “Nose Boy” costume made him uncomfortable.
In the docuseries Quiet on Set, former All That cast member Leon Frierson shares a moment from the show in which he was cast as a faux superhero named “Nose Boy.” He was given a large prosthetic nose, and his costume also featured similar noses on his shoulders. Though it was initially played off as funny shoulder pads, Leon noted that the features looked more like male genitalia.
Add to this that Nose Boy’s main joke was sneezing snot on everyone, and the bit no longer sits right with people.
“Frankly, it was just uncomfortable,” Leon says in his interview in Quiet on Set. “But I always did my best to be a trooper, never complained. We knew being close to Dan could mean an extra level of success. It was important to be on his good side, and he made it known who was on his good side.”
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Many others in the docuseries likened the joke to various sexual acts — something they say that many of Dan’s other productions seemed to feature.
After leaving All That in 2000, Leon only had a handful of other acting credits, none of which were with Nickelodeon.
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Dan Schneider addressed the allegations in an interview on his YouTube channel.
In response to the many allegations made against him in the docuseries, Dan did an interview with BooG!e, who played T-Bo on iCarly, for his YouTube channel. Though he’d previously apologized for his inappropriate actions through various statements as the allegations have continued to come out against him, this is the first time he’s spoken publicly on the matter.
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He started with another apology, admitting his actions on set were inappropriate, before suggesting that his previous shows should be edited to exclude any seemingly lewd content.
“All these jokes that you’re speaking of that the the show covered over the past two nights — every one of those jokes was written for a kid audience, because kids thought they were funny,” he said. “Now we have some adults looking back at them 20 years later through their lens, and they’re looking at them and they’re saying ‘You know, I don’t think that’s appropriate for a kids show.’ I have no problem with that. If that’s how anyone feels, let’s cut those jokes out of the show, just like I would have done 20 years ago.”
“I want my shows to be popular,” he admitted. “The more people who like the shows, the happier I am. So if there’s anything in a show that needs to be cut because it’s upsetting somebody, let’s cut it.”
Quiet on Set is available to stream on Discovery Plus and Max.
Source: https://www.distractify.com/p/nose-boy-all-that
