Victorious’ Daniella Monet claims Nickelodeon aired ‘sexualised’ scenes despite raising concerns

31 August 2022, 14:00

By Katie Louise Smith

"Do I wish certain things, like, didn’t have to be so sexualised? Yeah. A hundred percent.”

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Allegations about former Nickelodeon producer Dan Schneider have been shared in a new report from Insider, with actors from the shows detailing how they felt they were treated while working on his popular shows.

Last month, former iCarly star Jennette McCurdy released her autobiography, and the claims and revelations about her time working at Nickelodeon went viral on social media. In the book, Jennette shares a handful of recollections involving "The Creator" of iCarly and Sam & Cat and how she was treated on set. (Schneider is never mentioned by name)

Shortly after that, fans unearthed "disturbing" and "inappropriate" videos of Ariana Grande performing scenes on Victorious that many deemed to have been way too sexualised for a kids show.

Insider has now published a report in which several Nickelodeon actors who worked on Dan Schneider's shows spoke out about their own experiences working at the network, including Victorious' Daniella Monet.

Daniella Monet says she expressed concern about "sexualised" scenes on Victorious. Picture: Jon Kopaloff/Getty Images, NickRewind via YouTube

Daniella Monet, who played Trina Vega on Victorious, is one of the actresses that Insider spoke to for the report. Daniella told the outlet that some of the outfits that the actors wore on the show were "not age appropriate," and that she "wouldn’t even wear some of that today as an adult."

She also noted one particular scene in the show where her character was eating a pickle while applying lip gloss. Daniella explained that she had expressed concern to the network that it was too sexual to air, but Nickelodeon went ahead as planned and aired it anyway.

While she noted that most of Victorious was "very PC, funny, silly, friendly, chill," she agreed that there were a few instances that she thought were a bit too much. She said: "Do I wish certain things, like, didn’t have to be so sexualised? Yeah. A hundred percent.”

Alexa Nikolas, who played Nicole in Zoey 101, also spoke to Insider about her time at the network. The actress, who has been outspoken about her "traumatising" years working at Nickelodeon, told the publication that Schneider once screamed at her until she broke down in tears.

The iCarly and Victorious casts unite on the red carpet. Picture: Getty

In a statement to Insider, Russell Hicks, Nickelodeon’s former president of content development and production, said that standards and practices read all the scripts for Schneider’s shows, executives watched every episode, and parents and guardians were always present on set: "Every single thing that Dan ever did on any of his shows was carefully scrutinised and approved."

Schneider left Nickelodeon in 2018 following an investigation by ViacomCBS. He denied the claims, allegations of misconduct and any wrongdoings in an interview with the New York Times in June 2021.