Dan Schneider's former assistant calls Nickelodeon producer a 'psychological tormenter'

Numerous troubling allegations are made about Dan Schneider in new docuseries Quiet on Set: The Dark Side of Kids TV — and now the Nickelodeon producer's former assistant is chiming in with her own experience.

Amy Berg, a producer on shows like Jack Ryan and The Alienist, posted a lengthy statement on social media about her time working with the Amanda Show and Drake & Josh creator, which was brief, but long enough to leave a bad taste in her mouth.

"I don't talk much about my time there, but my VERY first job in town was as Dan’s assistant," Berg wrote of her start at Nickelodeon, where she went on to write for the final seasons of Kenan & Kel and All That after Schneider briefly left the network for UPN.

"During my year with Dan, I wasn’t aware of any physically inappropriate behavior. What I can confirm, however, is that he was a f---ing asshole. A psychological tormenter," Berg said.

She continued, "He introduced me to panic attacks and the stress of working for him caused me to develop a significant heart arrhythmia. I eventually had surgery to (mostly) correct the issue, but by that point I’d lost all of my 20s. He stole those years from me."

Reps for Schneider did not immediately respond to EW’s request for comment.

Despite her time with Schneider being brief, Berg asserted that her experience working with him has had a lasting negative impact. "While I don’t think my career trajectory was affected by my time with him, my personal life undoubtedly was," she said. "I became a shut-in due to the fear of having a medical crisis away from home. I was unable to cultivate relationships or nurture friendships. And to this day I carry with me an anxiety disorder that fiercely rears its head when faced with other manipulators. Fortunately I’ve only twice been in bad situations in my career where this trauma was reignited."

Berg said she has no plans to watch the docuseries. "All that said, I will not be watching Quiet on Set," she wrote. "I’ve no interest in reliving anything, nor do I want to be in a situation where I’d feel inclined to defend Dan in any way."

In the doc, multiple women who worked for Schneider alleged they were subject to sexual harassment and sexism during their time writing for The Amanda Show, stating that they were paid less than their male coworkers. 

In response to those ex-employees’ allegations, a spokesperson for Schneider previously told EW, "The Amanda Show was produced by a different company (Tollin/Robbins) not Dan. Additionally, Dan was not involved in writers' salaries, they were controlled by the network and also by the WGA, not by Dan even on shows he did create. However, unfortunately writers' rooms were often off-color places, especially more than 20 years ago. Dan is extremely sorry for his behavior that contributed to that environment and he has grown a lot since then. That behavior is clearly wrong and not for the workplace, and certainly he would never act that way again."

Other crew members, including Amanda Show director Virgil Fabian, claimed that Schneider cultivated a hostile work environment in which he would "yell and scream." In response to these allegations, a spokesperson for Schneider previously told EW, "Dan expected and asked a lot from his teams. They worked long hours and consistently made successful shows. In the challenges of production, Dan could get frustrated at times, and he understands why some employees found that intimidating or stressful. In a career spanning 30+ years, Dan worked with thousands of people, many of whom still tell him how much they enjoyed and appreciated working on his shows. But he also knows some people did not have a positive experience, and he is truly sorry for that."

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