Investigation Discovery’s ‘Quiet on Set: The Dark Side of Kids TV‘ premiered in March 2024 to uncover the abuse, sexism, and inappropriate dynamics involving underage stars and crew members in Hollywood, according to IMDb. It included accounts from child actors, such as Drake Bell, who spoke about their experiences.
One story came from the mother of a former actress named Brandi, whose identity raised questions on Reddit and other social media platforms.
Brandi’s Story
Photo Credit: Investigation Discovery – YouTube
An Instagram video from the show’s second episode showed Brandi’s mother MJ recalling a sexually explicit email production assistant Jason Handy sent her 11-year-old daughter after she appeared as an extra on ‘The Amanda Show.’
Handy stayed in touch with Brandi after filming, which MJ thought was an harmless act until her daughter one day ran to her room and locked her door. It turns out the production assistan sent her an image of him m*sturbating for her “to see that he was thinking of her.”
MJ said she didn’t contact authorities in fear of judgement and decided to keep Brandi away from Handy, instead.
Handy’s Arrest And Conviction
Photo Credit: Nickelodeon
Handy got arrested in 2003 for lewd acts against other children, according to Business Insider Africa. The Los Angeles Police Department revealed that he assaulted several kids including a 9-year-old in Glendale, California, and kept thousands of photos and ‘tokens’ from minors in his home.
One of the evidence had Brandi’s name and included letter she had written. So, detectives contacted MJ, who allowed her daughter to cooperate in hopes of justice, the outlet wrote. Describing himself as a ‘full-blown’ pedophile in a private journal (per the Los Angeles Times) Handy pleaded no contest in 2004 to the charges and was sentenced to six years in prison.
Who Is Brandi And Where Is She?
Photo Credit: Investigation Discovery – YouTube
MJ further revealed in her account in ‘Quiet on Set’ that Brandi left the entertainment industry after the incident and never returned. Now, according to Capitalfilm and Business Insider Africa, Brandi’s whereabouts are unknown. There’s still speculation about her identity on Reddit and TikTok, though.
Capitalfilm shared in March that many viewers believed Brandi Carlile was the child mentioned in the documentary but explained that Carlile had no history with Nickelodeon and she was already 18 when ‘The Amanda Show’ was out. BIA further talked about theories that claimed the victim was journalist Kate Taylor.
Taylor’s physical appearance fueled the rumors, which she debunked in a TikTok video later. As of now, Brandi seems to be an alias instead of the actress’ actual name, as BIA explained there was no trace of the name in IMDb’s cast list for ‘The Amanda Show.’
