Emma Roberts said she was "horrified and shocked" after watching the bombshell docuseries Quiet on Set: The Dark Side of Kids TV.
Released in March, Quiet on Set examined the alleged abuse and toxicity that child stars were subjected to while working for Nickelodeon — specifically on shows helmed by Dan Schneider.
Among the revelations was a history of complaints against him, as well as Drake Bell's story of abuse by a Nickelodeon dialogue coach.
Sharing her thoughts on Quiet on Set, Emma told Variety: "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, who, of course, played awkward middle schooler Addie Singer on Unfabulous for three seasons, said she had a positive experience on the show. Part of that, she explained, was because they had "this amazing woman" showrunner "named Sue Rose."
"I didn’t realize at the time, but a female showrunner back then was not very common," Emma shared. "Also, my mom was with me 24/7, and 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 added, "It makes me really sad, and I just feel like children need to be protected on sets, as do adults, and I feel like we’re working towards a better work environment in that sense. But yeah, that documentary really kept me up at night."
Emma joins a long list of former child stars, including Ariana Grande and Kenan Thompson, who have spoken out in the wake of the docuseries.
You can stream it now on Max and Discovery Plus.
If you are concerned that a child is experiencing or may be in danger of abuse, you can call or text the National Child Abuse Hotline at 1-800-422-4453 (4.A.CHILD); service can be provided in over 140 languages.