Nearly every celebrity-driven documentary goes through a predictable crisis management-driven circle of life. Those who come off poorly in the documentary issue public statements through trusted outlets and then a few days those who declined to participate in the documentary begin issuing unsourced statements on background explaining that their unwillingness to participate in the documentary was super innocent and not at all because they didn't want to answer questions on the record.
In the case of the recent investigative documentary Quiet On The Set, part one of the process was a recent attempt by producer Dan Schneider to swat back some of the allegations in the documentary by doing a YouTube Q&A moderated by the well-respected journalist BooG!E, who played T-Bo on Schneider’s show iCarly.
And recently we moved to the next stage of the process with an unsourced statement provided to TMZ, which seeks to explain why actress Amanda Bynes and/or her parents declined to participate in the Quiet On Set documentary.
Now I happen to think that it was wise of Bynes not to participate. Unless she is much more resilient than she appears to be based on her public appearances, rehashing anything from her past is likely not the best way to continue to heal.
But her parents are somewhat of a different story. I can't imagine the pain of having a daughter whose mental health challenges have played out in public for much of her adult life. If I were them, I probably wouldn't want to discuss the situation on the record either.
It is worth noting that part of the Amanda Bynes story covered in Quiet On Set that her parents would certainly not want to have to discuss on the record are the conflicts that took place between them and their daughter. Which included Amanda's efforts to win emancipation from her parents. An effort which - depending on who you speak with - Dan Schneider had some part in assisting and/or supporting.
Now, any of these reasons would have been fine ones to mention if anyone in the press asked why the family didn't participate in the documentary. A simple statement along the lines of "We just want to put that period behind us and continue the process of healing" might leave open some places for people to speculate. But that is likely to happen no matter what they say. However, a simple, kind of vague statement is generally the best approach in most crisis management situations.
Instead, someone close to the parents (and I have a suspicion who that might be) released some statements on background to TMZ. Why TMZ? Because it not only has reach, it's an outlet that is more than willing to release helpful information anonymously if it provides the outlet a bit more leverage in the future. Like any classic Hollywood gossip mill, TMZ trades access for favors on a daily basis.
In the piece Amanda Bynes Turned Down 'Quiet On Set' Interview, Didn't Watch It, TMZ's "exclusive" (notably without a byline) reports that Bynes didn't participate in the documentary because her experience with Schneider was just peachy:
Our sources say Amanda -- whom we're told did not watch the documentary -- declined to sit for an interview on account that she felt she just didn't have anything to share that would further their cause. In other words, she didn't go through what the 'QOS' subjects did.
Well, I do believe that she did not have some of the experiences other people did with Dan Schneider. Because as more than one person has said on the record, if you were on Schneider's good side, life tended to be pretty sweet on set. And I think it's fair to argue that there was no one Schneider worked with that he felt closer to than Amanda Bynes.
And maybe her experiences with Schneider were just fine. Although I would certainly like to ask her about some of those vaguely creepy videos included in the documentary. I would certainly like to hear from her parents a bit more about the battle by their daughter to win emancipation. Especially given the legal wranglings that have taken place in the years since.
But it would have been easy not to say anything...instead of releasing these comments on background, with no opportunity for a reporter to ask follow-up questions:
As for her parents ... our sources say they're private people and wanted to stay out of the spotlight for this. Unlike Amanda, we're told they actually watched the documentary and were both saddened and disgusted by the allegations.
But again, we're told the family unit as a whole hadn't experienced what these other child actors did while at the network ... which is why it didn't make sense for them to sit for it.
The thing is, they could have sat for an interview and said that. Or they could have taken the approach Schneider did with producers and decline the interview but provide some statements outlining their point of view.
Instead, someone "close to the family" released these comments. And if you want to know why they chose TMZ, it's likely to ensure they'll get a story closer like this one:
Amanda is much more low-key these days ... and she hasn't publicly addressed the doc. Now, however, we know how she feels about it -- and there's no bad blood with Nick.
No, we don't know how she feels. We have a pretty good idea about how her parents might feel. Or at least, the way they want to frame their feelings in public.
Everyone has the right to refuse to participate in any documentary or story. But it irritates me when subjects of a story attempt to anonymously spin things instead.