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The release of Quiet On Set: The Dark Side Of Kids TV came with bombshell allegations surrounding Nickelodeon. With Drake Bell and other child stars speaking out in the episode with their stories, there were disturbing clips of other actors—one being one of the most famous singers around today—Ariana Grande.
Questionable content starring Grande have been floating around for years, with many wondering if she would ever speak out about her experience working on shows like Victorious and Sam & Cat. Now, the “7 Rings” singer has begun to peel back some layers, admitting on Penn Badgley’s “Podcrushed” podcast that she has started to “reprocess” it.
“I think we had some very special memories, and we feel so privileged to be able to create those roles and become a part of something so special for a lot of young kids,” she explained, adding, “I think we’re reprocessing our relationship to it a little bit.” Grande’s Sam & Cat costar, Jennette McCurdy, has already opened up about her time on Nickelodeon. In her memoir, she has a section about someone she called “The Creator” and his inappropriate actions, which many believe is about producer Dan Schneider.
Grande said she believed the environment needed to be safer for kids, with some examples of what she thinks could help child actors. “I think there should be therapists, I think there should be parents allowed to be wherever they want to be and I think—not only on kids sets—I think if anyone wants to do this or music or anything at the level of exposure that it means to be on TV or to do music with a major label or whatever there should be in the contract something about therapy is mandatory.”
The 30-year-old addressed some of the clips she did for the show, which many believe are very inappropriate and filled with sexual innuendos, like videos of her “juicing a potato.” “Speaking specifically about our show, I think that was something that we were convinced was like the cool thing about us is that like we pushed the envelope with our humor and the innuendos,” she explained. “We were told and convinced as well that 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 ‘that’s - damn. Like really?’” she said visibly affected emotionally.
Grande also explained that videos that weren’t approved for the network were “snuck” onto the website or “whatever it was.” Although she never mentioned him by name, it’s alleged that Schneider would share footage online of Grande doing things like trying to put her foot in her mouth. “That is another discovery but going into it, I guess I’m upset,” she admitted.