Ariana Grande Shares Her Experience As A Nickelodeon Star(Photo Credit –Instagram)
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With the release of Investigation Discovery’s docuseries, Quiet on Set: The Dark Side of Kids TV, the plight of child actors on television show sets has become a topic of discussion. Singer Ariana Grande, who herself shot to fame as a child star on Nickelodeon, is now reflecting on her experience.
The singer-actress was a part of the Nickelodeon’s teen sitcom Victorious and its spin-off Sam & Cat between 2010 and 2014. Both the shows were created by Dan Schneider, who has been accused of mistreating children on set.
Ariana Grande Reflects on Her Time as a Child Actor
Ariana recently appeared on Penn Badgley’s podcast Podcrushed, where she revealed that she has some special memories of her Nickelodeon days, but is reprocessing her experience now. “We had some very special memories, and we feel so privileged to have been able to create those roles and be a part of something that was so special for a lot of young kids. I think we’re reprocessing our relationship to it a little bit now,” she said.
The singer, who was only 14 when she landed the role of Cat Valentine in Victorious, added that the television industry needs to be made safer for kids, who should have access to therapists as well. “I think parents should be allowed to be wherever they want to be, and I think not only on kids’ sets,” said the Side to Side singer.
She continued, “I think if anyone wants to do this, or music, or anything at this level of exposure, there should be in the contract something about therapy is mandatory twice a week or thrice a week, or something like that.” Though Ariana did not name Dan Schneider in the interview, she did say that she gets upset noticing the innuendos in her old shows.
“That was something that we were convinced was the cool thing about us – is that we pushed the envelope with our humor. And the innuendos were…it was like the cool differentiation. And I don’t know, I think it just all happened so quickly, and now looking back on some of the clips I’m like, ‘Damn, really? Oh, s**t,’” Ariana added.
Dan Schneider is Accused of Sexual Abuse, Harassment, and Toxic Workplace Environment
The five-part docuseries Quiet on Set features interviews of various actors, writers, and crew members from Dan Schneider’s shows like The Amanda Show, Zoey 101, and All That, who accused the executive of creating a toxic workplace environment, racial discrimination, harassment, and sexual abuse.
Schneider has denied the allegations but acknowledged that he made poor judgment during his time at Nickelodeon. He went on to file a lawsuit against the makers of the documentary for ‘defaming’ him and painting his image as a sexual abuser.
All five episodes of Quiet on Set are streaming on Max.
