Frankie Muniz, once a beloved child star, said in an inteveiw he'd rather his son not pursue acting.
The actor, known for his role in Fox's popular sitcom "Malcolm in the Middle," explained to the Australian outlet Pedestrian.tv why he's hesitant about his 3-year-old son, Mauz, following in his footsteps.
"I would never let my kid go into the business," the 38-year-old, now more known for his auto racing career, said in a video released Sunday. "And not that I had a negative experience, because to be honest, my experience was 100% positive. But I know so many people, friends that were close to me, that had such insanely negative experiences."
Frankie Muniz, who shares his son with wife Paige Muniz, continued, "And I just think it's an ugly world in general. I never cared about rejection, but there's a ton of rejection."
Frankie Muniz's comments came in the wake of Investigation Discovery's release of "Quiet on Set: The Dark Side of Kids TV," a docuseries uncovering allegations of misconduct behind the scenes of several Nickelodeon shows from the '90s and early 2000s. The series features interviews with former child and teenage actors who worked on these programs.
While Muniz is not among those interviewed, the actor has a history with Nickelodeon. He lent his voice to a character on the animated series "The Fairly OddParents" and hosted the 2000 Kids' Choice Awards, as well as two episodes of "All That."
In a response video on March 19, former Nickelodeon producer Dan Schneider, who worked on numerous shows for the network, including the one in focus in the docuseries, stated, "Facing my past behaviors, some of which are embarrassing and that I regret, and I definitely owe some people a pretty strong apology," according to E! News.
Previously, Nickelodeon's former President of Content and Production, Russell Hicks, said to E! News that "every single thing that Dan ever did on any of his shows was carefully scrutinized and approved by executives at Nickelodeon."
Zoe Papadakis ✉
Zoe Papadakis is a Newsmax writer based in South Africa with two decades of experience specializing in media and entertainment. She has been in the news industry as a reporter, writer and editor for newspapers, magazine and websites.
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