The Series of Nickelodeon Scandals

Nickelodeon didn’t just fall off as the top kids network on cable television. The brand's reputation and image has taken a hit through the years, and it all seems to be coming to a head. Everything points back to Dan Schneider, as the writer and producer that millions of child and teen actors dreamed of working for has continued to earn a public reputation as a bigger and bigger creep.

Schneider left the network in 2018 following an investigation of alleged verbal abuse. But what led up to this, and how far have things escalated since?

It seems like every name has a story to tell. From on-set massages to the hiring of violent felons, adult fans are left to wonder: what the hell is going on at Nickelodeon?

In Recent News…

2024 docuseries Quiet on Set: The Dark Side of Kids TV is rumored to feature Drake Bell and Alexa Nikolas and will debut on the ID channel.

Origins of “The Creator”

Dan Schneider near single-handedly built Nickelodeon by creating all the network’s most recognizable titles: All That, The Amanda Show, Keenan & Kel, and later Drake and Josh, Zoey 101, iCarly, and Victorious. He documented the process with behind-the-scenes footage on his blog DanWarp, amassing a large following of pre-teen bloggers.

Foot imagery was everywhere in early 2000s Nickelodeon, from the logo that hung on buildings to the weird segments on iCarly. On TheSlap.com, viewers could watch exclusive clips of Victorious characters that typically took place in their homes and often separate from one another. The videos range from lighthearted to downright bizarre, many including Ariana Grande putting her foot in her mouth, so to speak.

As the accusations piled up, Nick attempted to rebrand by phasing out the podiatric imagery. But regardless of Schneider being removed from set, the network continued with the gag in a tweet that to this day has not been removed:



Nine-year-old me was heavy on the Dan Schneider Kool-Aid, but to anyone who actually sent this man pictures of your feet, I implore you to consider going class-action.

Dan Schneider knew the lengths many fame-crazed children would ascend to obtain their own TV show, or even just to be featured on someone else's. Aside from his following in the early days of Twitter and the outstanding presence on DanWarp, he was an untouchable figurehead of the brand. And to hear Jennette McCurdy tell it, he used that as leverage.

“I’m Glad My Mom Died” released on August 9th, 2022 at retailers and on Amazon Audible. The narrative every bit as shocking as the title, the book was an instant best-seller, selling out of physical copies on the day of release. In it, McCurdy describes how she was forced into acting, leading her to suffer from with bulimia and the intense infatuation of “The Creator.”

Though she never uses his name, McCurdy leaves no room for doubt that Schneider is the man who coerced her into private dinners and underage drinking.

McCurdy also mentions dating a much-older Nickelodeon crew member during her time on set.

Jennette was offered $300,000 by Nickelodeon to not go public about her acting experience on the network. Needless to say, she didn’t take the hush money, and she’s better for it.

Jennette most recently works as a content creater. Her podcast Hard Feelings is available on Spotify and Apple Podcasts.

"My Name's Amanda..." (1994-2005)

If you’re a true 90s baby who’s been around since the beginning, you remember Amanda Bynes from her work on All That and The Amanda Show.

What made Amanda such a golden child in the eyes of the producers was the lack of interference on the part of her parents. Bynes had considered emancipation in 2003 and was speculated to be moving in with Dan and his wife, Lisa Lillien. For those unfamiliar with the Hungry Girl grift, Lillien showcases her marketing ability with a line of “low-calorie” cookbooks, despite having no background in culinary arts or nutrition. In the years since, Bynes has accused her own father of sexual abuse, yet also has suggested that Dan was a father figure in her life. This could track, considering how much of her childhood was spent on set and in his company.

Anonymous Hollywood blog Crazy Days and Nights added a textpost to their category titled Blind Items Revealed, verifying the statement was from Amanda Bynes. In her open letter to fans, Amanda discusses the parental abuse she faced as a child star. While the arbitrary capitalization in the post script might seem par for the course, the capital letters can be arranged in order to spell "DAN DID IT."

Bynes stated her hopes that the #FreeBritney movement would spark conversations surrounding her situation, as she claims she had no access to her own finances and that her mother was spending her money to purchase properties. Amanda’s claims about her parental situation echos those of both Spears and McCurdy, revealing that these experiences are not isolated, but part of a larger and more nefarious trend.

Fortunately, Amanda's conservatorship was brought before a judge and officially terminated in March of 2022.

Zoey 101 (2005-2008)

The Amanda Show aside, Zoey 101 is ultimately rumored to have had the most toxic work environment.

In her memoir, "Things I Should Have Said", Jamie Lynn Spears claims she was bullied by Alexa Nikolas on the set of Zoey 101.

Nikolas has shared her on-set experience at length, expressing that she was bullied by Jamie Lynn and Victoria Justice, even to the point that Britney Spears herself had berated her in defense of her sister. Nikolas now offers her support to Britney and has begun to understand the altercation as a product of Jamie’s manipulation. Zoey 101 end run after just two seasons following the media announcement of Jamie Lynn's surprise pregnancy. Some fans went as far as to speculate that Schneider was actually the father, but there's no solid evidence to suggest that this is true.

Britney Spears did apologize to Nikolas on November 3, 2022. After 15 years Britney published one of her signature notes-app text posts to clear the air.
"It broke my heart to see your interview about your experience in the business. Although I have apologized to you personaly just by "instinct" my heart at the time didn't know how incredibly good my family was with the ACTING LANGUAGE..."

A lot of the captions Britney uses on her social channels are scattered and long-winded. But she makes her sentiment clear: "You should tell Nickelodeon to kiss your ass !!!"

Drake and Josh (2004-2007)

Don’t think for a second I’m letting Drake Bell off the hook. He may have not contributed to the Nickelodeon dynamic in recent years, but he’s brought negative attention to the network.

Social media was in shambles when Josh Peck didn’t invite Drake Bell to his wedding in 2017. Bell expressed his hurt, though the pair reconciled that year.

Peck took the heat from the press in stride. He lived with the blame until Drake Bell was charged with “child endangerment” of a fan, which I consider a rather vague description.

Bell’s response was to change his name to Drake Campagna (Spanish for Bell) and flee to Mexico. In 2021 he pled guilty and was sentenced to two years of probation and 200 hours of community service.

More recently, Josh has and claimed to have filmed an episode with Jennette McCurdy for his podcast Good Guys. However, she proportedly requested the episode not be aired. "She owes us." Josh commented.

Sam & Cat (2013-2014)

Sam & Cat was just… off. The plotlines were thoughtless and over the top, featuring restaurants with robot waiters. Ariana was often absent from set to deal with her music career, a luxury that wasn't afforded to other talent like McCurdy.

McCurdy reveals that she had been promised her own show by The Creator early on, but rather than Just Puckett, she was assigned to share the stage with Ariana Grande.

Rumors had circulated over beef between Jennette and Ariana, and while it was accepted by the mainstream, it was generally all speculation… until now.

In her tell all memoir, McCurdy reveals that she was promised a directing credit in an episode of Sam & Cat by The Creator, but was informed by the crew that someone on the show didn’t want her to direct–someone the network couldn’t afford to lose.

Cat’s character had suffered infantilization through the seasons of Victorious and by the time of the spinoff, she was practically a toddler in a red wig. The whole show seemed geared toward a younger audience than would have most appreciated the cameos from previous shows including Matt Bennett, Liz Gillies, and Nathan Kress.

Jennette McCurdy finally divulges her feelings about Ariana. She reveals that Ariana isn't the type to hide her success, which made her feel “pissed and jealous.” She also states that her co-star was paid more money than her, despite being cast as an equal and having spent less time on the network.

According to YouTuber SLOAN, Jennette and Miranda had asked Ariana to join them in boycotting the 2014 Kids Choice Awards, but she had declined.

While Ariana was busy chomping at the musical bit, Jennette had recently gone through a messy breakup with NBA player Andre Drummond, ending in leaked nudes and a Twitter feud.

So when Sam & Cat wasn’t renewed for a third season, no one was shocked. Schneider’s Bakery tried to take it one more round with Game Shakers, which somehow ran for three seasons, even as he was fired from the network.

Liz Gillies and Backhouse Mike

If you've been following Nickelodeon lore for long enough, you may be familiar with the musical act known in the industry as Backhouse Mike. It was Mike, alongside producer Dr. Luke, who wrote the Victorious title track, "Make it Shine."

In 2020, Liz Gillies married Michael Corcoran at a private home ceremony late in quarantine, delaying the announcement for about a month. This was also the first time they went public with their relationship, even though it had been the word on the street for six years prior.

The pair officially met when Liz was 17, but seeing as how the Victorious theme song was composed by Mike, it's hard to fathom that they went a full year without crossing paths. Corcoran was 36 at the time, making exactly 20 years difference. According to Liz, she had a crush on Michael during her Victorious days, and the pair was photographed together as early as 2014.

Liz's character Jade debuted Backhouse Mike's song "Okay", which was unofficially released in full as a duet between Liz and Mike. The song was written for Jade's potential love interest, Andre. It's worth noting that Leon Thomas III now boasts Grammy nominations and co-writing credits for Lil Wayne, Post Malone, Zendaya, Drake, Jay-Z, and countless others including his costars. But for whatever reason, he didn't sing on the Nickelodeon track.

Liz hasn't addressed any of the controversy regarding Dan Schneider or Backhouse Mike, but her legal team has responded to SLOAN with a cease and desist. SLOAN then re-responded with a video where he reveals the letter to viewers, arguing that he really didn't say anything defamatory or show photos that weren't public.

The Dynasty star is best known for her mature, old-soul persona, but given what we know now about Nickelodeon behind-the-scenes, is the speculation truly out of bounds?

Reboot Fever?

While talks of a Victorious reboot has been in the works since the show ended, fans shouldn't hold their breath. Dynasty has only just wrapped for Liz, and Ariana’s musical impact is omnipresent. Despite all stars being on board, a spin-off has yet to reach the production stage.

Somehow, iCarly (2021) was the first and only program to successfully capitalize. The Paramount+ original features original stars Miranda Cosgrove, Nathan Kress, and Jerry Trainor. The show also features several members of the original supporting characters, including Mrs. Briggs and Principal Franklin. In one episode, Carly takes the stand against Lewbert to answer for her delinquent behavior in the original show.

The iCarly cast has been supportive of McCurdy’s decision to quit acting, and have answered that the door is always open for her to return. McCurdy discussed her relationship with Cosgrove, saying that she's cool and a great friend. So far, the rest of the stars have declined to comment about Schneider.

"Eat Predators"

Victorious costar Daniella Monet is the first of her crew to break her silence. Despite being the oldest of her cast members, she was only 18 at the time of the series. Now a mom of two, Monet claims that she asked the studio not to air specific scenes as Trina out of concern they may have been inappropriate for young viewers. She doesn't publicly specify which scenes, but followers have speculated over scenes depicting Trina sucking on a pickle while applying lip gloss or being squirted in the face with lotion.

She also claims that Schneider always lobbied for the skimpiest outfits. Following Victorious on Netflix in 2019, fans were nostalgic for more material on their favorite childhood stars, and it seemed some momentum was building up. The Victorious cast teased reboots, even hosting a quarantine reunion over Zoom.

Alexa Nikolas posted on her Instagram protesting outside of the studio, holding a sign that reads "Nickelodeon didn't protect me."

She echoes Monet's concerns of oversexualized scenes throughout the sitcoms.

First, she questions Nickelodeon's use of NDAs. "We're a little bit concerned because how can we, as a public, help if we don't know what's actually happening in there?"

Alexa isn't afraid to say Schneider's name. "To me, he is the creator of childhood trauma. He played a huge role in my personal childhood trauma. I did not feel safe around Dan Schneider while working at Nickelodeon, actually every time he came on set my body got extremely tense. Later on, in Season 2, he yelled at me and made me cry."

Nikolas has also claimed that Dan is known for making rounds of silencing those who come forth with cease and desist letters. "Nobody did anything about the abuse that was happening on the set of Zoey 101," says Nikolas, who claimed that it wasn't uncommon for actors to sit on Dan's lap.

Nikolas has started a campaign called "Eat Predators" aimed at music and film recording studios and has continued to stage Slime Time protests at the studio addresses. Now that the floodgates have opened, who will be next to give account?

Neither Nickelodeon or Dan Schnieder have yet to release an official statement.