Nickelodeon’s Tylor Chase homeless: Ex co-star shares motel destruction footage sparking fury online

Tylor Chase, who played Martin Qwerly on Ned’s Declassified School Survival Guide, has drawn renewed public attention after videos circulated online showing him homeless in Riverside, California.

Chase, once a familiar face on children’s television, was seen in TikTok clips sleeping on the street and appearing disoriented. The footage prompted concern among fans and former colleagues, several of whom attempted to offer assistance.

One of them was former co-star Daniel Curtis Lee, who portrayed Cookie on the Nickelodeon series. Lee said he travelled from Los Angeles to Riverside after seeing the videos and, with rain forecast, bought Chase food and paid for a motel room so he would have temporary shelter during the holidays.

Videos shared by Lee initially showed the two speaking and embracing outside the motel. However, on Christmas Day 2025, Lee posted an update stating that motel staff contacted him hours later to report extensive damage to the room. According to Lee, the door had been left open, the refrigerator overturned and the microwave placed inside the bathtub. He later shared images of the room and wrote, “I really thought this time might be different. I was wrong.”

The update quickly spread across social media platforms, prompting mixed reactions. While some users expressed sympathy for Lee and highlighted the challenges of helping someone with complex needs, others questioned the decision to share the incident publicly. Several posts criticised Lee for posting images and updates involving Chase, arguing that the situation should have remained private.

“This is what happens when you hand out rooms without treatment,” one post on X read. Another comment stated, “Good intentions don’t replace actual mental health care.”

Others questioned whether the situation should have been shared online at all. “Helping a friend is noble. Broadcasting it isn’t,” one user wrote, while another added, “This is real life, not a redemption reel for clicks.”

Online discussion also focused on the limits of short-term interventions. A widely shared comment read, “You cannot help someone who is not ready, no matter how much you care,” reflecting a recurring theme across Reddit and X threads discussing the incident.

Discussion online also focused on broader issues around homelessness, addiction and mental illness, with many commenters noting that short-term housing solutions are often ineffective without medical treatment and long-term support.

Chase’s family has since spoken publicly about his long-standing struggles. His parents have said he has lived with schizophrenia and bipolar disorder for more than a decade and has repeatedly stopped taking prescribed medication or declined treatment.

Local outreach workers in Riverside have reportedly offered Chase housing, mental health care and substance abuse treatment on multiple occasions, which he has refused. A GoFundMe campaign launched by a TikTok user raised more than USD 1,200, but Chase’s mother requested that it be shut down, saying, “Tylor needs medical attention, not money.”

Other former child actors, including Shaun Weiss, have also offered support. As of late December, Chase remains homeless in Southern California, with those close to the situation acknowledging the limits of what outside intervention can achieve.