The Dark Side of Nickelodeon

It prides itself on offering an “assortment of family-friendly programming.” For Alexa Nikolas, however, Nickelodeon’s claims concealed a darker truth. She says young stars were exploited into taking part in sexually suggestive scenes.

“Kids are groomed into thinking that the lines that they’re doing are pretend, that it’s not real life,” the star, who played Nicole Bristow on the Nickelodeon TV series Zoey 101, told Newsweek.

Nikolas spoke out in the wake of docuseries Quiet on Set: The Dark Side of Kids TV, which aired on the Investigation Discovery channel on Sunday and exposed the “toxic culture” and alleged abuse on the set of some of Nickelodeon’s biggest shows.

In addition to Nikolas, several former child stars have spoken out, claiming sexual assault and harassment while working for the channel.

The four-part docuseries documents the child sexual abuse committed by assistant Jason Handy, dialogue coach Brian Peck, and studio freelancer Ezel Channel, as well as the alleged abusive and misogynistic behavior of showrunner Dan Schneider.

Nikolas said it was part of a pattern.

“The lines get very blurred between what is inappropriate and what is appropriate because someone can say to you in real life, it’s inappropriate,” she said.

“But in pretend land for Hollywood it’s appropriate because it’s not real life. And they really teach you that as a kid. It’s a role you’re playing, these are just lines. And so as a kid, you start to think that even if something is weird it’s pretend. It’s not actually happening to you—and that’s a lie.”

Founded in 1977, Nickelodeon is an American pay television channel that for years people have considered as the epitome of childhood and adolescent entertainment, home to classic shows such as The Amanda Show, Drake & Josh, Zoey 101, and iCarly.

During a period when young people had limited entertainment options, Nickelodeon and Schneider’s popularity stemmed from producing series that appeared to be specifically designed for children, with children as their main characters. It helped launch the careers of stars such as Ariana Grande, Amanda Bynes, Nick Cannon and Jamie Lynn Spears.

Here, Newsweek has gathered some of the main details to come out of the series, as well as further claims by Nikolas and her quest for protection of abuse victims.

Newsweek emailed Nickelodeon for comment Wednesday and representatives for Dan Schneider Thursday. This article will be updated if they respond.

John Doe Comes Forward

For the series, several former child stars are interviewed, and Drake & Josh star Drake Bell speaks publicly for the first time about being repeatedly molested by his dialogue coach, Peck, when he was 15.

Before starring in Drake & Josh, Bell landed a role on Nickelodeon’s The Amanda Show in 1999. The next year, on the first day of the show’s second season, Bell met Peck, who invited him to his house for acting lessons.

“I was sleeping on the couch where I usually sleep and I woke up to him… I opened my eyes and I woke up and he was…he was sexually assaulting me,” Bell said in the docuseries. “And I froze, and was in complete shock and had no idea what to do or how to react.”

Bell claimed the abuse occurred more than once and said he was scared to report it. He explained: “And it just got worse, and worse, and worse, and worse, and I was just trapped. I had no way out. The abuse was extensive and it got pretty brutal.”

In 2004, Peck pleaded no contest to charges of oral copulation with a minor under 16 and performing a lewd act with a 14- or 15-year-old. Peck spent 16 months behind bars for his offenses. He was also legally required to register as a sex offender. At the time of Peck’s conviction, Bell was not publicly identified as a victim.

After his release from jail and his sex offender registration, Peck was hired to work on The Suite Life of Zack and Cody at Disney Channel. However, he was terminated after the network learned of his conviction, Variety reported.

Responding to Bell’s disclosure, Nickelodeon told Newsweek in a statement: “Now that Drake Bell has disclosed his identity as the plaintiff in the 2004 case, we are dismayed and saddened to learn of the trauma he has endured, and we commend and support the strength required to come forward.”

It must also be noted that Bell was sentenced to two years’ probation in 2021 for an inappropriate “relationship” with a 15-year-old girl. Bell’s victim read an impact statement before his sentencing, in which she said Bell started grooming her when she was 12, sent her sexually suggestive pictures—including ones of his genitalia— when she was 15, and sexually abused her. Bell’s attorney refuted the victim’s allegations.

Newsweek emailed a spokesperson for Bell for comment Monday but didn’t hear back.

Sexualized Sketches

For years, Zoey 101 star Nikolas has been speaking out about the toxic environment fostered at Nickelodeon and the injustices she and other child actors endured while working for the channel.

On March 13, she made a post on X (formerly Twitter) requesting that Nickelodeon remove scenes from the series that now make her feel incredibly uncomfortable.

“Nickelodeon I am asking you to remove the scene on Zoey 101 where I am sexualized as a child. Where Dan Schneider took part in creating a scene where I say ‘this shirt makes me look chesty.’ I would also like the scene where I say ‘how do we get these boobs’ to also be removed,” she wrote.

In her conversation with Newsweek, Nikolas said Nickelodeon hasn’t responded to her request, nor has it issued her an apology. Newsweek presented this to Nickelodeon over email Wednesday but is yet to hear back.

She also mentioned a moment in season 3, episode 13, of the show Victorious that makes her uneasy. In the scene, actor Victoria Justice, who had just turned 17 when the show premiered in March 2010, had her school locker open. Inside, it had the words “Who’s hot” underneath a photo of Schneider. Above his face, it said, “dudealicious,” which has been verified by Newsweek.

“This is very poignant. This is very important. Dan Schneider put his own photo into his child actor’s locker on set … and that’s their boss. Why would you want to place yourself as a hot guy in your person who’s working for you on set?” Nikolas asked.

Nikolas isn’t the first person to comment on the sexual nature of some of the sketches that have appeared on Nickelodeon. During Quiet on Set, several former child stars stepped forward to recount allegations of being made to participate in sketches that included jokes deemed to be sexually suggestive and/or racially insensitive.

“The show is full of these weird, uncomfortable sketches,” said All That actor Kyle Sullivan. “I think Dan got a kick out of walking a line with that.”

During the docuseries, a disturbing montage of inappropriate clips featuring former Nickelodeon child stars was shown, including one of Grande pretending to “milk” a potato and pouring water over her face in a sexualized manner. Another clip in the montage showed “goo” being squirted on Jamie Lynn Spears’s face during a scene in Zoey 101.

Footage has also resurfaced of Schneider in a hot tub with Bynes when she was a teenager. The clip was taken from a recurring sketch titled “Amanda’s Jacuzzi,” which saw the underage star interview guests while sitting in a hot tub.

In 2022, Business Insider published a story that reported that Schneider allegedly insisted on hyper-sexualized content in his shows and “the most revealing” teen costumes. Writers, actors and crew members told the publication that they were disturbed by sexualized scenes in Schneider’s scripts. One such instance was when a teenage Victoria Justice had food rubbed on her bare stomach in online extras for the TV show Victorious.

Nikolas said Schneider was able to exist in the grey area with his sketches. Kids often found his ideas funny but now with adult eyes, she sees the sexual undertone of some of the scenes in the shows he created.

“When you’re a kid your brain isn’t even fully developed, so there’s so many innuendos you haven’t learned yet because you’re a kid,” she told Newsweek.

She added: “Hollywood exploits kids not knowing the difference between imagination and reality. And that’s where I think it’s very dangerous because your brain is still thinking ‘this is real’ but there’s another part of you that’s been told by the industry that it’s not real.”

Nickelodeon previously told Newsweek: “Though we cannot corroborate or negate allegations of behaviors from productions decades ago, Nickelodeon as a matter of policy investigates all formal complaints as part of our commitment to fostering a safe and professional workplace environment free of harassment or other kinds of inappropriate conduct.

“Our highest priorities are the well-being and best interests not just of our employees, casts and crew, but of all children, and we have adopted numerous safeguards over the years to help ensure we are living up to our own high standards and the expectations of our audience.”

Photos of Children’s Feet

Nikolas alleged that she saw Schneider inviting an underage cast member over to his house without their parents and also texted some of the children outside of work. According to Business Insider‘s exposé, Schneider often took young actors out to dinner, invited them to his house for holiday parties, and delayed writing scripts so he could socialize with the stars on set.

Nikolas has also alleged that Schneider solicited pictures of minors’ feet and would pay them $1 if they would agree to it. For years, Schneider has faced allegations of an inappropriate foot fetish and having young stars of his shows engage in scenes that involved feet.

“My mom didn’t let me do that so I never got photos taken of my feet. But other cast members did and he would go around with dollar bills and give them dollar bills to take a photo of their feet,” she told Newsweek.

“Sure, we can have the argument [that kids find feet funny] but that’s why it’s very dangerous because he can ask us to do something that a kid doesn’t realize an adult can sexualize.”

In a 2021 interview with the New York Times, Schneider said the foot fetish allegations were “ridiculous” and said children find feet “goofy and funny.”

“The comedy was totally innocent,” he explained.

In her chat with Newsweek, Nikolas also alleged that the screenwriter would be present at wardrobe fittings for Zoey 101 when she was just 12 years old. She also claimed that he would take Polaroid photos of her in costume.

“He would be in wardrobe getting the Polaroids of me that were in these short skirts and it would be under the guise of him having full creative control,” she alleged.

“He picked and chose what we wore, and now I look back at him like that’s kind of creepy that he would be there and then he would take these Polaroids. What did he do with those Polaroids? You know, that really is deeply disturbing to think about because I don’t know any adult that wants to take Polaroids of a girl, a child, into their own possession.”

Protests Against Nickelodeon

Nikolas founded the movement Eat Predators, an activist group formed to protest predatory behavior.

On Tuesday, the former child star led a protest outside Nickelodeon’s studio in Burbank, California. She live streamed the protest at the studio gates, where protesters chanted, “Power to survivors!” and, “Protect survivors, not predators!”

Protesters held photographs of former Nickelodeon staffers convicted of sexual abuse, as well as photographs of executives they accused of enabling misconduct at the company. Nikolas held a sign that read: “Nickelodeon didn’t protect us.”

“This is a very monumental moment for child stars everywhere. We were so scared of these networks and the adults that we were working for for such a long time, and now we’re adults and we get to let them know how we feel,” she said at the beginning of the protest.

This is the second time that Nikolas has protested out of Nickelodeon’s studios, with the first one that took place a year and a half ago having gone viral at the time.

“It played a huge part in the documentary, in the sense that that documentary really came together because of a mixture of three things. It was Jennette McCurdy’s book, my protest and Kate Taylor, who did the first Business Insider exposé of Dan Schneider,” she said.

“Because of me going on the record that that article was able to come to be and that’s really what sparked this documentary being able to happen. So to go back [to Nickelodeon’s studios] a year and a half later, when the documentary has been made, was super surreal. It’s always wonderful to see people actually physically show up and take a stand when it comes to abuse, especially of children. It’s just nice to see people not just resharing the tweet but physically showing up.

“That was the 34th protest I’ve done in the last two years, not just at Nickelodeon, but many institutions that cover up sexual abuse. Nickelodeon is not the only entity that does this, which is just so appalling because it’s children.”

The Controlling “Creator”

Jennette McCurdy rose to stardom playing Sam Puckett on the popular show iCarly from 2007 to 2012. When the program ended, McCurdy was cast in the spinoff series Sam & Cat, which focused on a crossover between Sam and Victorious‘s Cat Valentine, played by Ariana Grande.

She eventually decided to leave the industry behind for good and in August 2022, she published her memoir I’m Glad My Mom Died. In it, she detailed some of the harrowing things she experienced while employed as a child actor for Nickelodeon.

McCurdy declined to comment on this story when approached by Newsweek.

In the book, she wrote about someone at the children’s network that she called “The Creator,” who she said was “mean-spirited, controlling, and terrifying” and prone to make “grown men and women cry with his insults and degradation.”

McCurdy has never identified the person by name but she told The Washington Post that The Creator allegedly crossed boundaries by initiating an unsolicited shoulder massage and pressuring her to sip his alcohol-spiked coffee when she was 18.

The former child star wrote in her book that after allegations were made against The Creator, he was isolated in a “cave-like room to the side of the sound stage, surrounded by piles of cold cuts, his favorite snack, and Kids’ Choice Awards blimps, his most cherished life accomplishment.”

“This feels to me like hush money,” McCurdy wrote, saying she instantly ruled out accepting any such offer. “The way I see it now is, that decision came from self-righteousness. Should I have taken that money? I’m glad I didn’t because I’m able to talk about it, and I don’t have to have that secret haunt me.”

What Happened to Dan Schnieder?

After working together for 20 years, Nickelodeon and Schneider parted ways in 2018 after an investigation found he’d verbally abused colleagues. The investigation determined there was no evidence of sexual misconduct.

After Quiet on Set aired, Schneider sat down with actor BooG!e, who played T-Bo on iCarly, to discuss the documentary. The video was then uploaded to Schneider’s YouTube channel.

“Watching over the past two nights was very difficult. Facing my past behaviors, some of which are embarrassing and that I regret. I definitely owe some people a pretty strong apology,” he said near the start of the video.

Schneider expressed his regret for his past behavior and said he never intended any of his jokes to be anything other than funny for children. He also apologized for his aggressive and misogynistic behavior in the workplace but denied other allegations.

“Every one of those jokes was written for a kid audience because kids thought they were funny, and only funny, ok?” he said.

“Now we have some adults looking back at them 20 years later through their lens and they’re looking at them and they’re saying, ‘Oh, you know, I don’t think that’s appropriate for a kid show,’ and I have no problem with that if that’s how anyone feels. Let’s cut those jokes out of the show, just like I would have done 20 years ago or 25 years ago.

“I want my shows to be popular, I want everyone to like—the more people who like the shows the happier I am. So if there’s anything in a show that needs to be cut because it’s upsetting somebody, let’s cut it.”

Schneider also said that everything that happened on the shows was carefully scrutinized by dozens of involved adults, and approved by the network.

“The notion that I had the power to just produce whatever I wanted and have it air is completely false. There were many, many levels of scrutiny okay?” he said. “We had executives in LA we had executives in New York … Two coasts of approval and by the way, approval at every stage. I’m talking about wardrobe, I’m talking about makeup, sound, sets, dialogue, jokes, everything.”

In addition, he said that every day there were parents, caregivers and set teachers on set, adding: “If anybody had said anything, ‘Hey, we don’t like that that’s not appropriate,’ then it would have been cut out.”