Ariana Grande is finally speaking on the troubling allegations against her former employers at Nickelodeon, voicing her support for the alleged victims who have spoken out, TMZ reports.
The pop star Ariana Grande made an appearance on Penn Badgley’s “Podcrushed” podcast Wednesday, where she looked back at her time as a child star on the network … and noted she was devastated for her peers who’ve shared their alarming experiences.
Ariana Grande who first rose to fame on “Victorious” and “Sam & Cat” — recalled pushing the humor envelope on her shows, thinking it was cool then, but grimacing about it now.
She says … “And, the innuendos, we were told, and convinced as well, that it was the cool differentiation. And, I don’t know, I think it all just happened so quickly and now looking back on some of the clips I’m like, that’s … damn, really?”
As Ariana Grande puts it … the content that wasn’t approved for the network still saw the light of day … as it surfaced on the show’s website. And yes, it sounds like she finds it all icky in 2024.
Her input comes after the network was put on blast in a damaging docuseries, “Quiet On Set: The Dark Side Of Kids TV” … where Dan Schneider — the creator of Ariana’s shows, among others — was hit with accusations of misconduct, ranging from writing inappropriate jokes for minors to sexual harassment.
Dan has since apologized, but denied sexualizing child actors on his shows … suing the producers of the docuseries for defamation, saying they falsely painted him as a predator.
While it sounds like Ariana’s experience was way different than other Nick stars, she still says on-set environments need to be made safer for child artists. She says child actors should be made to go to mandatory therapy sessions, among other provisions to protect them.
Sources close to Ariana Grande told TMZ … while Ariana’s personal experience as a child actor was not the same as those who have spoken out, AG is seeing things with a different lens nowadays. She’s devastated over the stories that were shared in the docuseries and supports and urges more conversations to happen around how to protect young professionals in the industry.
The suggestions Ari’s making here don’t just apply to child actors BTW — she says these changes need to be made for any minor who’s working in showbiz, period. Strong take.