‘Zoey 101’ Actor Matthew Underwood Says He Was Assaulted by Former Agent; Defends Fellow Nickelodeon Stars ‘Staying Silent’ About ‘Quiet on Set’

variety.com:

Michaela Zee “Zoey 101” star Matthew Underwood has revealed on social media that he was assaulted at age 19 by his agent at the time.

In a statement regarding the Investigation Discovery docuseries “Quiet on Set: The Dark Side of Kids TV,” Underwood opened up about being assaulted by his former agent, whom he does not name. “When I was 19, I was sexually harassed and then assaulted by my agent at the time, who had spent a decent amount of time building trust with me as a friend and mentor.

Again, my trust was betrayed and my self image was crushed,” Underwood wrote on Instagram on Friday. “I reported him to the agency and he has since been fired — although he is still active in the industry.

This experience provoked my move away from LA and ending my pursuit of acting.” Underwood then explained why he was sharing his story of sexual harassment and assault, saying that “many people have been blowing up [his] email” and calling him a “pedophile defender” following the release of “Quiet on Set,” which features allegations of abuse against “Zoey 101” creator Dan Schneider and several crew members at Nickelodeon. “I imagine many of my friends in the business are being equally harassed if they aren’t joining in the chorus,” Underwood wrote, “so I’m sharing this with hope that some of you can recognize that just because a person doesn’t shout from the rooftops that pedophiles are bad or that people can suck — that does not mean they don’t have their own reasons for staying silent, good reasons, personal reasons.” Underwood played Logan Reese in “Zoey 101” for four seasons from 2005 to 2008.