Nickelodeon Actor Allie DiMeco Says She Was Forced to Kiss Older Co-Star on ‘Naked Brothers Band’ Set: ‘I Told Them Many Times I Didn’t Want to Do It’
Former Nickelodeon star Allie DiMeco recently posted a TikTok video in which she claimed she was once forced to kiss an older male on the set of “The Naked Brothers Band,” in which she starred as Rosalina. The series, created by Polly Draper, used the mockumentary format and starred Nat Wolff and Alex Wolff as fictionalized members of a family rock band. Rosalina was Nat’s love interest on the show, but their relationship hit a speed bump in Season 3 when she had a quick fling with a French man (Jake Hertzog).
DiMeco told her followers that she had been “stressed” while watching “Quiet on Set: The Dark Side of Kids TV,” the buzzy ID Discovery documentary about abuse allegations at Nickelodeon, and said “I went through trauma” of her own during her time at Nickelodeon.
More from Variety
'Quiet on Set' to Launch Fifth Episode 'Breaking the Silence' With New Drake Bell Interview and More
“There was an episode where Rosalina ‘cheated’ on Nat and kind of kissed a French guy,” DiMeco said as her video cut to an edited scene from the episode. “He’s a 30-year-old man. I’m sorry, I couldn’t even watch it. It gives me fucking the ick and it honestly gives me PTSD.”
“I’m watching this ‘Quiet on Set’ documentary and it’s talking about how integral and vital it is to create — especially when it’s a kids cast — to create an environment where kids feel comfortable to say ‘No’ or ‘I don’t feel comfortable with this,'” she continued. “And I’m like, yeah, maybe they do express that though, it’s also more important to create an environment that listens to the kids and actually does not make them do things when they don’t want to do them because they made me kiss this 30-plus-year-old man when I was like, what, 14 or 15?”
“I told them many times that I didn’t want to do it,” DiMeco added. “My mom was very against it and they pretty much made me feel like I was going to lose my job, that I might be fired if I didn’t do it. It was weird.”
Variety has reached out to Nickelodeon for comment, as well as to clarify Herzog’s exact age during filming. Several online sources indicate Hertzog was born in 1986 and would have been around 21 years old at the time. Representatives for “The Naked Brothers Band” producers Draper and Albie Hecht did not immediately reply to Variety‘s request for comment.
Nickelodeon has been under intense scrutiny since “Quiet on Set” started airing earlier this month due to many allegations of abuse brought forward by former network stars. “Drake & Josh” star Drake Bell has received national attention for revealing he was abused by Nickelodeon dialogue and acting coach Brian Peck. Bell recently called out Nickelodeon for not adequately responding to the allegations.
“I find it pretty empty, their responses, because, I mean, they still show our shows, they still put our shows on,” Bell said. “And I have to pay for my own therapy, I have to figure out what — I mean if there was anything, if there was any truth behind them actually caring, there would be something more than quotes on a page by obviously a legal representative telling them exactly how to tailor a response.”
Watch DiMeco’s full TikTok video in the post below.
Best of Variety
From 'The Idea of You' to 'Apples Never Fall': The Best Book-to-Screen Adaptations to Read This Year
Sign up for Variety’s Newsletter. For the latest news, follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.
