Warning: This article contains discussion of sexual assault and harassment which some readers may find distressing.
Star of Zoey 101 Matthew Underwood has claimed that his agent sexually assaulted him when he was 19 years old.
Underwood, now 33, starred as Logan alongside Jamie Lynn Spears in the hit kid's TV show which aired on Nickelodeon from 2005 to 2008.
Advert
Taking to his Instagram page on Friday (March 29), the actor revealed in an emotional post that the abuse had led him to move away from Los Angeles and quit acting.
Underwood does not name his former agent in the post, but did say that he is 'still active in the industry'.
The post came after a docuseries called Quiet on Set: The Dark Side of Kids TV which examines the culture behind the scenes on popular children's TV shows.
Advert
Underwood wrote: "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 crushed."
He continued: "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 ended my pursuit of acting."
The actor made the post in response to how 'many people have been blowing up my email' following the release of the docuseries with people calling him a 'paedophile defender'.
Advert
The series makes allegations of abuse against Dan Schneider, who created and produced Zoey 101 along with a number of other Nickelodeon shows.
Underwood went on to explain that he had not spoken out because the topic of abuse is one which is personally very difficult for him.
He wrote: "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 extended his sympathies to people have suffered from abuse, saying: "I have extreme empathy for anyone who has been taken advantage of by people they trusted. I hope they are all able to grow to love themselves and have great support from their family and friends in their journey of recovery."
He also called for people to take a moment to think before posting as they don't know what impact their words might have.
Advert
Underwood said: "I also ask you all to take a few moments and consider why someone might not share their experiences publicly and not immediately shame them for reserving their right to privacy."
Schneider himself has since spoken out about the docuseries.
"Watching [the doc] over the past two nights was very difficult, me facing my past behaviors, some of which are embarrassing and that I regret," he said. "I definitely owe some people a pretty strong apology."
Schneider added: "I now know that there were kids who did have problems with the on-air dares. And it breaks my heart. I am so sorry. I am so sorry to any kid who ever had to do a dare or anything that they didn't want to do or weren't comfortable doing."
Advert
"If I had known at the time I would have changed it on the spot," he said.
UNILAD has reached out to legal representatives of Dan Schneider for comment.
If you've been affected by any of the issues in this article, you can contact The National Sexual Assault Hotline on 800.656.HOPE (4673), available 24/7. Or you can chat online via online.rainn.org.
Topics: Celebrity, Crime, Instagram