Matt Bennett Faces Backlash For Nickelodeon-Branded Tour Following ‘Quiet on Set’ Documentary

Former Victorious actor and current DJ Matt Bennett has received criticism for using branding and music from former Nickelodeon producer Dan Schneider’s shows on his tour.

Last week, Investigation Discovery released ‘Quiet on Set: The Dark Side of Kids TV,’ a four-part documentary series detailing inappropriate and disturbing conduct that took place at Nickelodeon from the late 1990s to the early 2010s. The series focuses on the shows of Dan Schneider, a former producer at Nickelodeon who headed a number of successful shows during that period including All That, The Amanda Show, Drake & Josh, Zoey 101, iCarly, Victorious, and Sam & Cat. 

Following the release of the damning documentary, one former Nickelodeon star has been particularly caught up in its aftermath: Matt Bennett. Bennett, who played Robbie on Victorious in the early 2010s, is now a DJ who tours playing events whose name and branding reference Schneider-led Nickelodeon shows. Beginning as ‘iParty’ in early 2022 before changing to ‘Party 101’ in early 2023, the shows feature music and visuals from many of these Nickelodeon shows as well as from some Disney Channel shows from the same era. He is currently in the midst of a Party 101 world tour with 21 stops in the United States, Australia, and New Zealand.

Bennett posted a statement on his Instagram story after watching ‘Quiet on Set’ in which he says he is “dedicated to help in any way that I can to put more safeguards in place to protect young actors.” The statement also addresses those attending his upcoming shows, saying that the shows are “a celebration not just of the actors and musicians we grew up loving but of how far we’ve all come in life.” Bennett also posted a second story asking fans to “be respectful of whether or not people feel comfortable sharing their experiences at this time.”

Former Zoey 101 star Alexa Nikolas, who was interviewed for the documentary and has been very active in bringing inappropriate conduct at Nickelodeon to light, posted on X a screenshot of Bennett’s Instagram story alongside a screenshot of his upcoming ‘Party 101’ tour schedule. Though she doesn’t make any comment along with the photos, the post seems to imply hypocrisy on Bennett’s part and sparked a lot of passionate debate in the comments. 

In that comment section and elsewhere on social media, questions have been raised about the morality of Bennett’s use of the names, images, and songs of these Nickelodeon shows on his tour. Some claim that these parties glorify and glamorize the shows and, by extension, the abuse surrounding their creation. Others accuse him of capitalizing on the attention garnered by the documentary to increase ticket sales.

Bennett is certainly not without supporters in the wake of this backlash, though. Many fans have come to his defense, noting that ‘Party 101’ and ‘iParty’ have brought a lot of joy and celebrate the good that came from these shows, not the bad. Others have pointed out that Nickelodeon is not affiliated with the tour and is therefore not profiting off of it, although Nickelodeon and Dan Schneider do receive royalties when songs from these shows are played on music streaming platforms.

At the time of writing this article, no further comments have been made by Matt Bennett and all Party 101 shows are set to go on as planned. ‘Quiet on Set’ is available for streaming on Max.

Gus Johnson

Born and raised in Portland, Oregon, I’ve always had a passion for writing and was introduced to the EDM scene in 2017. Since then, I’ve attended countless shows and several major festivals including Tomorrowland, EDC Las Vegas, Decadence CO, Hard Summer, and Shambhala. Some of my favorite artists are Seven Lions, Zeds Dead, NGHTMRE, Trivecta, and Jason Ross.

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