Daniel Curtis Lee says his attempt to help fellow former child actor Tylor Chase ended in chaos after the ex-Nickelodeon star allegedly trashed a motel room his kind-hearted colleague paid for during a brief intervention in California.
Lee, who played “Cookie” on “Ned’s Declassified School Survival Guide,” said he drove from Los Angeles to Riverside after a viral TikTok video showed Chase homeless and living on the street.
The clip, which was initially posted online in September, showed a visibly disheveled Chase confirming his identity and acknowledging his past role on the Nickelodeon series.
The video sparked widespread concern and prompted fans to launch a GoFundMe campaign, which eventually raised $1,200 before it was shut down by Chase’s mother — who warned that giving her son cash would worsen his struggles with mental illness and substance abuse.
The funds were instead used to buy food, clothing and other essentials, according to the TikToker who launched the GoFundMe.
Lee said he reached out directly, bought Chase a meal and paid for a motel room so he could get out of an approaching storm.
Within hours, Lee said, motel staff contacted him with alarming news.
According to Lee, the room had been severely damaged. He said the door was left wide open, the refrigerator was flipped upside down, and the microwave had been placed in the bathtub.
Lee later shared the aftermath publicly, saying the experience was devastating but not entirely unexpected. He said Chase’s family had warned him about similar incidents in the past.
The actor said the episode underscored how difficult it is to help someone dealing with severe psychiatric illness and addiction without long-term professional care.
Other former child stars also tried to step in. Shaun Weiss, best known for playing goalie Greg Goldberg in Disney’s “The Mighty Ducks,” offered Chase a bed at a detox facility and a path toward long-term treatment, drawing on his own recovery from addiction.
Chase has so far declined to take Weiss up on his offer, according to reports.
Chase’s father, Joseph Mendez Jr, has said his son has battled serious mental health issues for more than a decade, including schizophrenia and bipolar disorder, compounded by substance abuse.
Local authorities have confirmed that outreach teams encounter Chase regularly and have repeatedly offered shelter, mental health services and drug treatment — all of which he has declined.
Lee said the motel incident made clear that good intentions aren’t enough.
As of late December, Chase remains homeless in Southern California and continues to refuse sustained treatment, leaving those trying to help him with few options and little clarity on what comes next.
[Notigroup Newsroom in collaboration with other media outlets, with information from the following sources]
