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Nickelodeon's Biggest Scandals Ever
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00:00Over the years, Nickelodeon seems to have served up slime and scandal in equal measure.
00:05While many children have grown up enthralled with the fun and laughs of seemingly innocent
00:09entertainment, things aren't quite as innocent or funny behind the scenes.
00:12Let's look at the network's biggest controversies ever.
00:16Producer and writer Dan Schneider was involved with some of the most popular Nickelodeon live-action
00:20shows throughout the 90s, up until 2018.
00:23He produced All That and Kenan & Kel and created some of Nick's biggest hits, including The
00:28Amanda Show, Zoey 101, Drake & Josh, iCarly, Victorious, and Sam & Cat.
00:33However, at the height of the Me Too movement, rumors started to swirl about the showrunner.
00:37Users on the internet started to make note of his alleged obsession with Feet.
00:40The Nickelodeon logo was once afoot, and some have connected this with Schneider's rumored
00:44foot fetish.
00:45Feet have been a recurring theme on many of his Nick shows.
00:48There's a scene where Ariana Grande puts her own toe in her mouth, and another where Miranda
00:51Cosgrove gets her toe stuck in the faucet while in the bathtub.
00:54A quick internet search reveals many others.
00:57The official Twitter account of the series Sam & Cat also tweeted an odd request in 2013
01:01for kid fans to write on the bottom of their foot and share the pictures under a hashtag,
01:05guaranteeing they would retweet it.
01:06This?
01:07Ugh!
01:08Ew!
01:09This?
01:10Ew!
01:11Ugh!
01:12The New York Times directly asked about the foot fetish accusations, and Schneider claimed that
01:14the comedy was, quote, totally innocent.
01:16The publication described his explanation by saying that kids find Feet goofy and funny.
01:20They also dismissed the claims made on social media as ridiculous.
01:23During the foot fetish controversy, as well as workplace misconduct allegations, Dan Schneider
01:27was officially investigated.
01:29According to the New York Times, the review found no evidence of sexual misconduct by Schneider,
01:33but it did find he could be verbally abusive to people he worked with.
01:36A few co-workers additionally told the outlet that they felt uncomfortable when he frequently
01:40asked an employee from the costume department for shoulder and neck massages, or texted child
01:44actors outside of work hours.
01:46Schneider avoided talking directly about the investigation, but chalked his leadership style up to his high standards.
01:51He also said,
01:52I couldn't, and I wouldn't, have the long-term friendships and continued loyalty from so
01:56many reputable people if I'd mistreated my actors of any age, especially minors.
02:00Still, Schneider left the network shortly after the 2018 investigation.
02:04The joint statement issued by Schneider and Nick indicated the decision was mutual, and
02:08he apparently got a $7 million payout to leave.
02:10Early in his career, animator Chris Savino worked on several 90s Nickelodeon classics, including
02:16The Ren & Stimpy Show, Rocko's Modern Life, and Angry Beavers.
02:19After working years in animation in a variety of different studios, he created the Nickelodeon
02:23animated series The Loud House in 2016.
02:26It quickly became the most-watched kids' cartoon on TV.
02:28In 2017, at the height of the success of the series, Cartoon Brew reported that Savino
02:32was accused by a dozen female employees at Nickelodeon of inappropriate behavior and harassment.
02:37An investigation ensued, revealing that his behavior had been inappropriate for at least
02:41a decade.
02:42A professional animator, who remained anonymous, wrote a letter to Cartoon Brew detailing Savino's
02:46behavior towards her, which included offering her a job if she did, quote, inappropriate
02:50things with him.
02:51The animator further explained that she turned down a job at Nickelodeon because of his presence.
02:55The incident revealed the ongoing difficulties of being a woman in the male-dominated world
02:59of animation.
03:00Savino responded to his accusers in a since-deleted Facebook post, saying that he was deeply sorry
03:04and ashamed.
03:05He also acknowledged how his actions impacted the workplace, creating a, quote, unacceptable
03:10environment.
03:11He was fired from Nickelodeon and suspended from the Animation Guild for one year.
03:14The Loud House continued production without Savino, and still enjoys success, including
03:18a sixth season and a Netflix movie.
03:20Jon Crisfalusi, the man behind the Nickelodeon cult classic cartoon The Ren & Stimpy Show,
03:25is now linked to serious accusations of predatory behavior.
03:28He allegedly took advantage of two Ren & Stimpy fans in the 90s who were aspiring animators.
03:32I guess their job is to keep entertainment from polluting your mind, and I sort of have
03:39the opposite philosophy.
03:41Speaking with BuzzFeed News in 2018, the alleged victims, Robin Byrd and Katie Rice, recalled
03:46their unsettling interactions with Crisfalusi when they were only teenagers.
03:50Byrd says she reached out to Crisfalusi in 1994 when she was 13 years old.
03:54Crisfalusi, who was 39 at the time, began communicating with her and eventually began a sexual relationship
03:59with her when she was 16.
04:01Byrd says she was then groomed into a lengthy relationship, with Crisfalusi convincing her
04:04that she was being mentored.
04:06Associates of both Byrd and Crisfalusi also claimed to BuzzFeed that he routinely took
04:09lewd photos of Byrd and shared them with others without her consent or knowledge.
04:13Byrd told the outlet,
04:14"...he ruined a good bit of my childhood and my early adulthood, gave me PTSD, and forced
04:18me to change careers."
04:19Rice claimed she suffered sexual harassment from Crisfalusi for years.
04:23Like Byrd, she started communicating with Crisfalusi in writing as a teen, before becoming
04:27his collaborator. Although they never had physical sexual contact, Rice claims Crisfalusi repeatedly
04:32attempted to cross that line with her.
04:33"...I became a better artist by working for him. I'm not grateful for it. I wish I hadn't.
04:38I wish I were a worse artist now, and I didn't have all this to deal with."
04:41Crisfalusi was no longer at Nickelodeon when Rice and Byrd made their accusations, but when
04:45the BuzzFeed story broke, Nickelodeon still declined to comment. Even so, we did eventually
04:50hear from Crisfalusi in the 2020 documentary Happy Happy Joy Joy! The Ren and Stimpy Story.
04:55While it's unclear if he's truly repentant, after a bit of prying and deliberate questioning
04:58by the interviewer, Crisfalusi did say that he wishes he could apologize.
05:03At a young age, Jamie Lynn Spears sought to separate herself from her pop icon sister,
05:07Britney Spears, by pursuing acting. She began her Nickelodeon career on All That at age
05:1111, and a couple years later became the star of Dan Schneider's hit series, Zoey 101.
05:15When Spears became pregnant at 16, many considered it a scandal for Nickelodeon, though Nickelodeon
05:20was supportive in an official statement via TMZ.
05:22We respect Jamie Lynn's decision to take responsibility in this sensitive and personal situation. We
05:27know this is a very difficult time for her and her family, and our primary concern right
05:30now is for Jamie Lynn's well-being. However, Zoey 101 was canceled shortly thereafter, and
05:35many fans blame the star's pregnancy.
05:37Spears set the record straight in 2020 in an interview with Nylon, claiming her contract
05:41had already ended by the time she realized she was pregnant. She explained,
05:44As of 2020, there was talk of a Zoey 101 reboot. Some fans have wondered whether or not the Britney
06:00Spears conservatorship drama would sink the prospect. However, cast member Chris Massey
06:04told TMZ that the reboot was still in the works as of July 2021.
06:08Jeanette McCurdy played Sam Puckett on Nickelodeon's iCarly, and later on the spinoff Sam & Cat
06:13alongside Ariana Grande. In March 2014, lingerie selfies of McCurdy were leaked online. To
06:18some, the leaked photos were scandalous, as is often the case when a child starred as something
06:22that reveals they are actually an adult. In fact, McCurdy was 21 years old at the time.
06:26The next month, McCurdy skipped the Kids' Choice Awards, spurring speculation that the
06:30photos caused a rift between her and Nickelodeon.
06:32She explained her absence on Twitter, denying that the photos played a role, but rather that
06:36she was put in an uncomfortable, compromising, unfair situation by Nickelodeon. She also added,
06:41"...I chose to not go because sticking up for what is right and what is fair is what
06:44my mom taught me is always the most important thing."
06:47Nickelodeon didn't respond, but the drama rolled on from there, including an alleged salary
06:51feud between Grande and McCurdy, which Grande denied. Sam & Cat ended up axed after just
06:56one season. Of the show ending, McCurdy said,
06:58"...I had to remove myself from the role model battle. The falsified standard set by the bubblegum
07:02industry is, in my eyes, to remove myself from the counterintuitive battle of attempting
07:06to be something perfect, while being glaringly aware of my imperfections."
07:10In 2012, Nickelodeon decided to reboot the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles in an animated
07:14series, casting Jason Biggs as the voice of Leonardo. Biggs, however, is known for his
07:19at-times controversial comedy. Biggs tweeted a string of lewd tweets right after Nickelodeon
07:23had encouraged Ninja Turtle fans to follow the actor. Nickelodeon promptly issued an apology,
07:27saying,
07:28"...does not support or condone the use of graphic or vulgar language on any of our platforms.
07:33It was our mistake to link from our Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Twitter feed to Jason's
07:36personal Twitter account, and we quickly corrected our error. We also insisted Jason use better
07:41judgment and discretion in public communications while affiliated with our brand."
07:45Nickelodeon quietly replaced Biggs with actor Seth Green for Season 4 of the series in 2014,
07:50making no public comments about the reason for his ouster. In a 2018 appearance on Dax Shepard's
07:54Armchair Expert podcast, however, Biggs admitted that the tweets resulted in his firing.
07:58He said that, despite warnings from the network, he doubled down and continued with more vulgar
08:02tweets, resulting in the network continuing to receive backlash for employing him.
08:06The American Pie star explained he was struggling with addiction at the time and that the whole
08:09episode traumatized him and served as a huge wake-up call.
08:13Angelique Bates was one of the original cast members of Nickelodeon's sketch comedy show
08:17for kids All That. In 2016, she spoke to The Shade Room, opening up about her experience
08:21on set. She discussed how she was abused in front of producers who did nothing to help.
08:26Without naming her abuser, Bates explained,
08:28"...I was only 12 years old, and that's when my nightmare began. I was physically, mentally,
08:32emotionally abused in front of the producers and cast members, and sometimes they could
08:36even hear me yelling, but nothing was done to help me."
08:38The following year, she tweeted more allegations of physical abuse she endured, abuse, she
08:42insisted, the network knew about.
08:44The details of Bates' allegations remain unclear, though The Shade Room suggested that Bates
08:48experienced abuse at the hands of her mother, D. Bates. Even so, D. Bates hasn't come out
08:52saying she was the one who actually abused Angelique. A statement from D. Bates seemingly
08:56placed blame on Nickelodeon and All That producers, claiming,
08:59"...the viewers were unwittingly and unknowingly my witnesses, and Angelique's witnesses, to
09:03Nickelodeon's and the producers of All That's own unlawful punishment slash psychological abuse
09:07of Angelique, a minor, which appears to have been retaliation on the part of Nickelodeon and
09:11the producers of All That, for a conversation in which I was involved with the California Child
09:15Labor Department."
09:17According to Angelique Bates, Child Protective Services did show up to the production in
09:201996, but she said the adults on set pressured her to, quote,
09:23"...stay silent."
09:24Her mother claimed that Nickelodeon and the producers of All That only contacted CPS after
09:28the police became involved and the situation became known, adding that it was merely an attempt
09:32to cover their own butts.
09:34In a video for Inner Warrior, Bates explained that she was pretty much released from her contract
09:38at age 15. She claims that she was then rejected from the entertainment industry due to
09:42her past. She explained,
09:43"...when I was a child star dealing with aspects of the child abuse, it pretty much affected
09:47the workplace, which later affected my adulthood because I was blackballed."
09:50Nickelodeon has never come forward with an official response to the accusations.
09:55Caitlyn Sanchez was one of the three actors who have voiced Dora in the long-running Nick
09:58Jr. series Dora the Explorer. After voicing the character for two years, Nickelodeon fired
10:03her when she was 14 years old because she reached puberty and her voice changed. Shortly
10:07after she was let go from the role, Sanchez filed a $10 million lawsuit against Nickelodeon,
10:11MTV Networks, and their parent company Viacom. She claimed that Nickelodeon made promises
10:15that weren't kept, and that her rush contract was never submitted to court for approval,
10:19as it should be when dealing with minors. Nickelodeon issued a statement saying that the claims
10:23being made were baseless, and that Sanchez's contract was extensively negotiated through
10:27her agent and in compliance with her union. The network also claimed that they offered Sanchez
10:31a contract to do other work with them. According to The Hollywood Reporter, Sanchez's attorney
10:36also threatened to expose, quote, humiliating secrets about Nickelodeon if it failed to
10:40settle the lawsuit appropriately. The issues were settled confidentially soon thereafter.
10:44However, two years later, Sanchez and her family attempted to revoke the apparent settlement,
10:48which included a $500,000 payment and future royalties on merchandise due to alleged lawyer
10:52fraud. Unfortunately for Sanchez, the court denied the appeal.
10:57Child stars don't always have the easiest time transitioning to adult life, and Nickelodeon stars are no exception.
11:02Several Knicks stars have been involved with scandals after their time with the network ended. This was
11:06the case for Amanda Bynes, the actress who once had the starring role in her own Nickelodeon sketch
11:10comedy show, The Amanda Show. In 2010, Bynes abruptly announced on Twitter that she was retiring from
11:15acting. In 2012, Bynes made headlines concerning a series of driving-related legal issues, including
11:20DUIs and a couple of hit-and-runs. Then in 2013, she was held at a hospital for mental evaluation
11:25after setting a small fire in an L.A. neighborhood, according to The Hollywood Reporter.
11:29She also received a lot of negative attention for her Twitter account during this time.
11:33After disappearing from the public eye for several years, Bynes sat down with paper in 2018
11:37and explained that her strange behavior during those years was due to drug use. She shared,
11:42"...the mixture of marijuana and whatever other drugs and sometimes drinking really messed up my brain.
11:46It really made me a completely different person. I actually am a nice person. I would never feel,
11:51say, or do any of the things that I did and said to the people I heard on Twitter."
11:54As of April 2021, Bynes' lawyer told People that she was doing much better. Apparently,
11:59she lives by the beach and attends school. She's also enjoying meditation and soul cycling.
12:04Drake & Josh was another one of Dan Schneider's Nickelodeon sitcom hits.
12:07It starred Drake Bell and Josh Peck in the titular roles,
12:10playing two stepbrothers with polar opposite personalities. The Nickelodeon alum Bell first
12:14ran into trouble in 2015 with a DUI charge. Then, in 2021, a real scandal hit the star when he was
12:20accused of predatory behavior towards a minor. A 19-year-old woman accused him of grooming her
12:24since she was 12, sending her graphic photos and engaging in sexual misconduct in two separate
12:29incidents, both when she was still underage. Bell pleaded guilty to attempted child endangerment
12:33and a misdemeanor charge of disseminating matter harmful to juveniles. However, he denied the more
12:38serious charges, including the victim's claim that Bell had forced her to perform sexual acts.
12:42He received a sentence of two years probation, was ordered to have no further contact with the victim,
12:46and had to perform 200 hours of community service. In the trial, held over Zoom, Bell stated in part,
12:51"...Today, I accept this plea because my conduct was wrong. I'm sorry that the victim was harmed
12:55in any way. That was obviously not my intention."
12:58Bell's Nickelodeon co-star and on-screen brother Josh Peck, when asked about his reaction to Bell's
13:02sentence, he told Variety,
13:04"...it's upsetting and it's an unfortunate situation. It's disappointing."
13:07"...Again, I just want to apologize to her and anyone else who may have been affected by my actions."
13:15Nickelodeon's hit animated show, Avatar The Last Airbender, was adapted into a live-action film
13:20in 2010. It was produced by Nickelodeon Movies and directed by M. Night Shyamalan,
13:24but many fans had a problem with the casting. The Asian-inspired characters were cast with mostly
13:28white actors, which spurred fan protests and accusations of whitewashing the story.
13:32Guy Aoki, the leader of the Media Action Network for Asian Americans, told CBC,
13:37"...it speaks volumes when the initial casting decision was to cast four white leads. For them to be
13:41comfortable with that. It's embarrassing. It says a lot about their attitudes."
13:44The same outlet quoted the parent of an eight-year-old Asian child,
13:47who shared thoughts and concerns concerning the Nickelodeon and Paramount filmmakers. The parent said,
13:51"...they seem to have no clue that there's this huge fan base of young Asian Americans
13:55who are delighted to see themselves on screen. It could have really been groundbreaking."
13:58The parent felt that Nickelodeon hadn't even considered a large portion of the original
14:02series' fan base, not to mention the opportunity they had to use an authentic Asian cast.
14:06Though the movie is the third-highest-grossing Nickelodeon film ever, it was met with unfavorable
14:10reviews and has a ghastly 5 percent score on Rotten Tomatoes. Shyamalan dismissed the criticism
14:15in conversation with UGO's Jordan Hoffman. He claimed,
14:18"...it is the most culturally diverse temple movie ever made, and I'm proud of it."
14:21The creators of yet another airbender adaptation, this time for Netflix,
14:25seemed to disagree, telling IndieWire in 2018,
14:28"...we can't wait to realize Aang's world as cinematically as we always imagined it to be,
14:31and with a culturally appropriate, non-whitewashed cast."
14:34Who doesn't know the answer to the following question? Who lives in a pineapple under the sea?
14:39SpongeBob SquarePants has become one of the biggest pop culture icons ever to come out of Nickelodeon.
14:43His lasting legacy is partly due to the fact that the humor of the series appeals to a wide
14:47range of ages, but there were times when its humor was accused of crossing into too-adult territory.
14:52In 2018, the 2003 SpongeBob SquarePants episode, Midlife Crustacean, was pulled from rerun
14:57Circus, so it was reevaluated and pulled. David Bittler, the executive vice president of
15:01Communications at Nickelodeon, explained,
15:03"...following a standards review in which we determined some story elements were not kid-appropriate."
15:08Another episode, titled Quarantine Crab, was also pulled due to sensitivities surrounding the
15:12global, real-world pandemic. SpongeBob isn't the only Nicktoon that has faced controversies.
15:17Recapping Rocco's Modern Life series creator Joe Murray's commentary on a special DVD collection of
15:21the series, Collider reported that the episode Leapfrogs had been banned for a time because of the
15:25overtly sexual tones. Stump performers are known for being tough, but they aren't entirely immune
15:31to injury. In fact, physical injury is just part of the job when you're the one who has to take the
15:35actual kicks and punches. However, stunt performer injuries are most definitely not supposed to happen
15:39because of human error. That's exactly what a stunt professional named Katina Waters claimed in
15:442014 when things got a little serious on the set of the otherwise silly sitcom iCarly,
15:48a club when you're the one who has to take the actual kicks and punches. However,
15:52stunt performer injuries are most definitely not supposed to happen because of human error.
15:56That's exactly what a stunt professional named Katina Waters claimed in 2014 when things got
16:00a little serious on the set of the otherwise silly sitcom iCarly. According to TMZ, Waters
16:05claimed that the production ruined her career when she was recklessly dropped from high in the air
16:09during filming. She claims to have sustained serious injuries. She sued both series creator
16:13Dan Schneider's production company and Nickelodeon for unspecified damages regarding her pain,
16:18suffering, and loss of earnings. It's unclear whether or not she won the lawsuit,
16:21but thankfully, Waters' injuries didn't seem to have actually prevented her from working.
16:25According to IMDb, Waters continued to work pretty steadily after iCarly,
16:29most notably on American Horror Story and the Netflix hit Burt Box.
16:33When Nickelodeon's preschool network Nick Jr. released a trailer for its animated series,
16:37Made by Maddie, the internet wasn't impressed. In fact, many people got pretty upset. The reason
16:42for their anger was that the series looked a whole lot like the 2019 Oscar-winning short film,
16:46Hair Love. Visually, the characters in Made by Maddie looked almost identical to the characters in
16:50Hair Love. Even the pet cat, many disappointed fans of the Matthew A. Cherry short film,
16:54took to Twitter to express their disappointment in Nickelodeon's apparent plagiarism.
16:58Nickelodeon was further criticized because the creator of the show was white, while the show's
17:02story was about a Black family. Amidst the criticism, Nickelodeon pulled the show and
17:06released the following statement,
17:07In response, and out of respect to all voices in the conversation,
17:10we are removing the show from our schedule as we garner further insight into the creative
17:14journey of the show. We are grateful to Silvergate Media for all of their work,
17:17and we hold Matthew A. Cherry and the wonderful and inspiring Hair Love in the highest regard.
17:22Emma Roberts was born into a famous family. Eric Roberts is her father,
17:25and Julia Roberts is her aunt. Even so, she rose to fame in her own right in 2004,
17:30as a teen playing Addie Singer on Nickelodeon's Unfabulous. She later enjoyed success outside of Nick,
17:35especially her recurring performances in American Horror Story.
17:38You're not even the star of your own hell! You're a nameless Dave player in my eternal suffering!
17:43Early on, Roberts was able to quickly shed her Nickelodeon teen star image with films like
17:48Adult World, where she met her then-boyfriend Evan Peters on set. But their relationship hit some
17:52trouble in 2013, when she was arrested in Montreal for domestic violence after she allegedly hit Peters.
17:57TMZ reported that someone called police to report a fight in Evan in Emma's hotel room.
18:01Apparently, once the cops arrived, they found Evan with a bloody nose,
18:04though Roberts was arrested, Peters chose not to press charges. Their relationship survived the
18:08fiasco, and they even got engaged that same year. After years of an on-again,
18:12off-again relationship, they did eventually break up for good in 2019.
18:17In Zoey 101, Nickelodeon's series about tweens and teens at a boarding school in California,
18:22Matthew Underwood portrayed Logan Reese. He was the bratty classmate of the main character Zoey.
18:26Underwood managed to mostly stay out of the limelight as a teen, but in 2012,
18:30the former Nickelodeon star made headlines after he was arrested on Misdemeanor. He was charged with
18:34suspicion of cannabis, paraphernalia possession, and contributing to the delinquency of a minor
18:38in Florida. According to the report, Underwood, who was 22 at the time, was found in the bedroom
18:43of his home with a 17-year-old girl after police entered with a narcotic search warrant.
18:47The officers found he possessed marijuana and claimed that the girl admitted that Underwood
18:50gave her marijuana, hence the contributing to the delinquency of a minor charge. Underwood later
18:55disputed that claim by police, telling T.C. Palm that the girl, who he identified as his girlfriend,
18:59definitely doesn't smoke marijuana in his home. He also asserted that the police only targeted him,
19:04on the cusp of opening his local hookah lounge. He believed his high-profile arrest would put the
19:08kibosh on the business, which he claimed encountered lots of local government opposition.
19:12A Port St. Lucie police spokesman denied the assertion, but it's not all bad headlines for
19:16the former Teen Nick star. In 2017, he garnered attention after he heroically saved a baby from
19:21a car crash. Check out one of our newest videos right here! Plus, even more Nicki Swift videos about
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