Jennie Garth avoided involvement with Dan Schneider while appearing on “What I Like About You,” even though they co-created the WB sitcom.
Garth reflected on his experience on the show opposite Amanda Bynes during an episode of Dax Shepard’s podcast Armchair Expert. She began by mentioning co-creator Will Calhoun, saying he worked on What I Like About You with “another guy,” adding, “I totally forget his name now. He was part of that big scandal — Dan Schneider.”
She was referring to allegations of abuse, sexism, racism and inappropriate relationships with young women made against Schneider in the 2024 docuseries “Quiet on the Set: The Dark Side of Children’s Television.” Schneider later called the series a “hit” and sued the producers for defamation.
“He was on Amanda’s side,” Garth continued. “She used to work with him a lot on ‘The Amanda Show’ and stuff, so he hitched his wagon to her.” Shepard asked, “Did you have a bad feeling?” Garth said, “Yes,” and said, “I said to Will, ‘I just want to communicate with you. I trust you. I know you have my best interests at heart, but I don’t feel that way about your partner. So I’d rather be with you.'” And he was like, ‘No problem.’
When Shepard’s co-host Monica Padman asked Garth if she saw Bynes “destroyed” by Schneider, she replied, “Not him specifically. There were a lot of problems in her ecosystem.” She added of her former co-star, “When we shot the pilot, I had just turned 30 and she had just turned 16. I didn’t know how to interact with teenage girls. She taught me a lot.”
