Bryan Hearne recalls horrific racisim from Nickelodeon days

Bryan Hearne, former All That child star recently revealed that he was referred to as a "piece of charcoal" while working on Nickelodeon in a snippet of ahead of new docuseries.

Investigation Discovery’s docuseries, Quiet on Set: The Dark Side of Kids TV, premiered on March 17, concerning child abuse and exploitation of child actors at work based on their gender, race, and ethnicity.

Speaking exclusively to PEOPLE, Hearne recalled his experience working on the Nickelodeon sketch-comedy series, admitting that he is still haunted by the experience.

He reflected on his early days as an actor in the 2000s, when the actor was racially stereotyped in roles that were aligned with his complexion.

"I was referred to as a ‘piece of charcoal’ [by an adult]," the actor recalled.

Further adding, "Remarks like that are harmful. They stay with you."

Speaking of his role in the All That sketch, where Hearne played a rapper named 'Lil Fetus,' the actor noted: "I was already in an uncomfortable position being in a leotard. That's not something that I'm used to at all."

Recalling all the racial instances from the show, Bryan shared that "there was never any discussion" about the stunts, including that one time where the actor was all covered in peanut butter for "dogs to lick off" him.

"We felt like we couldn't say no, it was a really uncomfortable situation, and after a while it felt like we were just part of this torture chamber," he shared.

He admitted to falling prey to racism at the hands of Dan Schenider who ran the show, as compared to other non-Black actors at Nickelodeon.

Schneider was later fired in 2018, after the channel conducted an investigation concerning verbal abuse.