Lindsey Shaw’s Ned’s Declassified School Survival Guide co-stars have shared their reactions to her reaction to TikTok.
Daniel Curtis Lee, who played Cookie on the Nickelodeon series, spoke to TMZ about the controversy.
He revealed that Shaw had called him after starting to receive negative reactions for her video which she said was aimed at Millennial / Gen-Z audiences when a majority of people viewed it as racist.
Lee told her that she should respond with a light message, she didn’t take his advice. Instead, she posted a tearful Instagram Story video of her apologizing somewhat and trying to explain her shot.
“I felt like Lindsey had just given a tasteless vision,” he said. “But Lindsey is already a pretty pissed off person, she’s going to say what she thinks immediately.”
Lee added that “she didn’t say anything racist,” but thinks people might have misinterpreted her response to the comments that way.
In a since-deleted Tiktok, Lee addressed Shaw, contacting him.
“It’s me, your only black friend. So look at this, you got yourself into a bit of a mess,” he reportedly said.
Devon Werkheiser, who played Ned on the show, also addressed Shaw in his own TikTok video. He said Shaw’s hold was “unnecessary”. He noted that she was “rather reactionary and defensive” in her subsequent responses to the comments.
Werkheiser described her former co-worker as a “hatred of all kinds of things” and that she can be a “reactionary and defensive person”.
“But she’s also kind-hearted and faces personal issues and challenges that none of you know anything about,” he added.
Werkheiser concluded his video by saying that he understands people’s negative reactions to his video and comments, but that he will support his friend.
In Shaw’s original video, she insulted a viral TikTok dance created by black men. She quickly received a backlash for her video and reportedly responded to some of the comments made on the video in an unwarranted manner.
“I didn’t mean anything in any way. I learn everyday like everyone else I think. And that kind of hate just needs to evaporate from the planet, no matter who it’s headed to. Crocodile tears, no man! That’s my soul over there, “she said in her Instagram Story video, following the social media backlash.
She continued, “If you know anything about what I stand for or what I believe in, that’s not it. I’m sorry you were offended.”
Shaw said she would take a social media hiatus but return later.
