Actress Daniella Monet has accused Nickelodeon bosses of overlooking her concerns about a "sexualized" scene she appeared in on the show Victorious.
Monet, 33, played Trina Vega on the show between 2010 and 2013 and has told Insider in a new interview that some of the actors' costumes on the show were "not age appropriate"—and that she "wouldn't even wear some of that today as an adult."
Giving a specific example of her time on the show, Monet recalled that there was a scene in which she was shown eating a pickle while applying lip gloss. After shooting, Monet said that she raised concerns to Nickelodeon, but the scene was aired anyway.
While Monet described Victorious overall as a "very PC, funny, silly, friendly, chill" show, she said that there were moments that sparked questions on her part.
"Do I wish certain things, like, didn't have to be so sexualized? Yeah. A hundred percent," Monet told Insider.
She also criticized Dan Schneider, who created Victorious, as well as such Nickelodeon hits as Zoey 101, iCarly, Drake & Josh, and The Amanda Show. Monet said that Schneider worked in male-dominated writers' rooms.
Insider noted that none of Schneider's shows credited more than two women writers in the entirety of their runs, while the outlet reported that Zoey 101 and Drake & Josh didn't have any at all.
The report also states that Schneider, 56, "signed off on all outfits" and "campaign[ed] for the skimpier options." Schneider has recently faced other allegations of inappropriate behavior.
Alexa Nikolas, who starred alongside Jamie Lynn Spears in Zoey 101, told Insider that she was once screamed at by Schneider until she broke down in tears, and also said that he would often take photos with young actresses sitting in his lap.
Last week, Nikolas, 30, protested alleged unsafe working conditions at Nickelodeon and revealed that she did not "feel safe" around Schneider.
Protesters gathered outside Nickelodeon's animation studio in Burbank and Nikolas—who fronts the organization Eat Predators, which advocates for survivors of sexual abuse—has shared her concerns for the safety of child stars at the network.
"I did not feel protected at Nickelodeon as a child, personally," she said during a livestream of the protest posted to Instagram. "I'm demanding that Nickelodeon starts protecting children and not predators."
Earlier this summer, iCarly star Jennette McCurdy released her memoir, I'm Glad My Mom Died, in which she detailed the abuse she suffered at the hands of her late mother. She also included allegations of on-set exploitation by Nickelodeon and a figure she refers to only as "The Creator."
In the book, McCurdy, 30, speaks of being encouraged to drink alcohol at work when she was underage and being photographed in a bikini at a wardrobe fitting.
McCurdy claims that Nickelodeon offered her $300,000 hush money if she agreed to not speak about her experiences at the network. She said she rejected Nickelodeon's offer and has been vocal about her experiences there since.
Russell Hicks, Nickelodeon's former president of content development and production, told Insider the scripts for Schneider's shows were read through by standards and practices, while parents and guardians were always present on set.
Hicks also said that programming executives watched every episode, adding in a statement to the outlet: "Every single thing that Dan ever did on any of his shows was carefully scrutinized and approved."
Newsweek has reached out to representatives of Schneider and Nickelodeon for comment.
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About the writer
Ryan Smith is a Newsweek Senior Pop Culture and Entertainment Reporter based in London, U.K. His focus is reporting on ... Read more
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