Nickelodeon has held a place near and dear in the hearts of many. Those who were raised on decade defining shows from the 2000’s like iCarly and many others may recognize the name Dan Schneider, a famous American television producer responsible for iCarly, Victorious, Sam & Cat, Drake & Josh, Zoey 101,  and other hit television shows on Nickelodeon. These shows made a significant impression on the childhoods of Gen-Z teens and millennials. So when some of Nickelodeon’s darkest secrets are revealed, viewers begin questioning what actually occurred behind the scenes.

In 2018, to the surprise of viewers and others involved, Nickelodeon suddenly cut ties with Dan Schneider, a popular American television producer working with Nickelodeon. From that point forward there were increasing suspicions and allegations brought about Dan Schneider concerning his workplace behavior and treatment of actors and actresses who were minors. On August 9, 2022,  iCarly actress, Jeanette McCurdy, released her memoir titled ‘I’m Glad My Mom Died’  that delves into Nickelodeon’s secrets and McCurdy’s struggles growing up in the industry.

The biggest red flag involving McCurdy’s relationship with Nickelodeon is that she rejected a large offering of $300,000 to never speak publicly about her experience with the company and her past experiences on the shows. In her memoir there are references to “The Creator” with ominous undertones and excerpts from the memoir have already been analyzed by publication companies. Vanity Fair explored the meaning behind a specific excerpt leading people to believe that ‘The Creator” is Dan Schneider. 

TIME conducted an interview with Jennette McCurdy on her experience as a child star and her publication of her new memoir. In the interview, McCurdy states “—I think of Hollywood less as a domineering force, and more about the people in Hollywood that you surround yourself with.” This is speculated to be in direct connection to Dan Schneider or “The Creator”. The memoir includes McCurdy’s uncomfortable experience with ‘The Creator’ and she discusses being encouraged to drink alcohol at 18 years old and even being photographed in a bikini at a wardrobe fitting. 

This comes as no surprise, The New York Times conducted an investigation on Dan Schneider finding ‘allegations that he could be verbally abusive at times’. After further investigation it was uncovered that he asked for ‘shoulder and neck massages’, and on top of that he had a ‘habit of texting child actors outside of work hours’. 

Allegedly, Schneider refused to hire female writers despite the target audience and cast members being teenage girls. The production company, Storybook Productions was accused of gender discrimination and perpetuating a hostile work environment by one of the two female writers on The Amanda Show, Jenny Kilgen. The other female writer wrote a letter claiming that Schneider would ask her and Kilgen to perform inappropriate acts for money and the case was settled for an undisclosed amount. The lawsuit was filed in 2000 and Schneider was not named.

Despite Schneider’s departure from Nickelodeon and the release of McCurdy’s memoir, iCarly is scheduled to release new episodes in 2023. Jennette McCurdy won’t be returning to the show and cut ties with Nickelodeon. The allegations against Schneider as well as ‘hush money’ offered by Nickelodeon are inconclusive. 

Following the release of McCurdy’s memoir, Nickelodeon’s Zoey 101 star, Alexa Nikolas was inspired to stage a protest outside of Nickelodeon’s headquarters with a sign that read “Nickelodeon didn’t protect me.” She said on Instagram Live during the protest, “I did not feel safe around Dan Schneider while I was working at Nickelodeon.” Nikolas spoke with TMZ and described her experience working with the network as “traumatic.” 

Another actress, Daniela Monet, well known for her role as Trina Vega in Victorious, describes that her outfits on the show were “not age appropriate” and that the outfits were often clothes that she wouldn’t wear as an adult. “Do I wish certain things weren’t so sexualized?” Monet said, “Yeah. A hundred percent.”

Also in the hit tv show Victorious, was a web series called “The Slap” which consisted of exclusive videos of the characters. One category for the videos was “Cat’s Random Thoughts” which consisted of Ariana Grande’s character self-taping a series of mini-episodes from her bedroom. In the clips, Grande who was 16 at the time was shown sucking on her own toe, attempting to ‘milk’ a potato, and pouring water over herself. 

In 2019 a video compilation of the content went viral getting over 11 million views. Schneider was responsible for writing and directing all eight installments.

Warning: the following content may be suggestive or offensive.

https://youtu.be/Vl0OuXw_mTM

Schneider has maintained a low profile and retreated from social media after the release of Jeanette McCurdy’s memoir spurred a series of actresses to open up about the abuse and sexualization they endured while working with him and Nickelodeon. Although previous investigations have been inconclusive, it is predicted that more actresses will be inspired to come forward with the truth to take down Schneider.