After allegations of abuse by her network coworkers were made in the video line” Quiet on Set: The Dark Side of Kids TV,” breakout star Arianna Grande reflected on her day working for Nickelodeon.
The” Winning” and” Sam &, Cat” student, who worked on those series with questionable Nickelodeon producer Dan Schneider, appeared to process her thoughts about the work in real time, empathizing with the “devastating” claims made by individuals and former co- actors in the bombshell Investigation Discovery documentary. ( Schneider , recently sued , the creators of” Quiet on Set” for defamation, calling the series a “hit job” and saying it falsely implied he was involved in child sex abuse. )
The Grammy winner and” Wicked” celebrity asserted that her personal experience was “beautiful”. Nevertheless, she insisted that when it comes to baby performing, the environment” only needs to be made safer all around”. She also expressed her opposition to some of the racist insinuations and jokes that her line demanded.
” A lot of people do n’t have the support that they need to get through performing at that level at such a young age”, Grande said this week on Penn Badgley ‘s ,” Podcrushed” podcast,” but also dealing with some of the things that the survivors have come forward — there’s not a word for how devastating that is to hear about”.
Her relationship to child acting “has and is currently” changing as she works through her experience, and she is just the , latest Nickelodeon alum , to speak out since , the fallout from” Quiet on Set” , , although she did not refer to the series by name in the interview.
The 30-year-old, who has , became more reflective on her most recent album , and suggested that parents should be allowed to be wherever they want to be, and that arrangements does mandate treatment two or three times per week to mitigate the “level of contact” young stars are expected to deal with early on.
She also advocated for the establishment of mental health organizations to be able to “unpack what this experience of your life changing so dramatically affects you at a young age, at any age.”
” Gossip Girl” and” You” star Badgley said that “exploitation” is a real issue for anyone who works, not just in Hollywood or on certain sets. Grace and Grace both agreed that there can be issues with power dynamics and harassment “in any work environment.”
She said,” I’m glad that this conversation is taking place both here and around the world because it’s just sort of a cultural shift.” ” It’s not just actors and singers, and whatever. If you ever work, ask anyone who has ever dealt with a boss who was sexually harassed or even assaulted if they’ve ever been a victim of sexual harassment or assault. It’s everywhere … It’s prevalent”.
The” Thank U, Next” and” 7 Rings” singer lamented that inappropriate behavior has been normalized, but believes things are changing. ” I think that’s a really nice place to see the world in unison, standing in a place where we’re like,’ That’s changing, that’s unacceptable.'”
The superstar first started singing when she was 8 and then at 13 started acting in community theater and on Broadway. She then appeared in her role on” Victorious” at the age of 14 along with co-star and real-life best friend Elizabeth Gillies, who also happens to be best friend. She claimed she never “had support and friendship all around me” and that she did n’t believe she started” too young” at the age of thirteen. She also credited her” strict” and “very protective” mom for sheltering her and always being supportive of her career “in a healthy way”.
” We got cast, and it was the best news we could have heard.” I mean, we were young performers who just wanted to do this with our lives more than anything, and we got to, and that was like so beautiful”, Grande said. We feel privileged to have been able to play those roles and be a part of something that was so special for many young children,” I believe we had some very special memories.” I believe we’re re-processing our relationship right now.
In response to the darker side of children’s television, Grande addressed unsettling aspects of her shows that have “upset” her in retrospect, particularly how as a young actor she and her cohort were subjected to content or made to perform in ways they were n’t developmentally ready for.
When young performers get a laugh, Grande referred to a” strange pattern” that involves a positive feedback loop. She explained that when an actor laughs something that is inappropriate for their age, the adults who are working around them can take advantage of it. They may think they’re doing something great or “good” when it actually generates a laugh.
She said,” We were convinced that speaking specifically about our show was something that was cool about us.” We “pushed the limits” with our humor. The innuendos, we were convinced]that ] it was the cool differentiation. … Now looking back on some of the clips, that’s like,’ Damn, really? Oh, s—.'”
Grande claimed that having a daughter who was placed in similar circumstances would n’t be her thing. According to her and the other podcast panelists, there was only a spirit of responsibility toward” the bottom line” when the audience members found that kind of humor.
” And then the things that were n’t approved for the network were snuck onto our website, or whatever it was, that is another discovery. Going into it, yeah, I guess I’m upset”, she said.
In the , five- part ,” Quiet on Set” series, former child star , Drake Bell revealed , that he had been , sexually abused , by Nickelodeon dialogue coach Brian Peck when he was younger, acknowledging that he was the” John Doe” referenced in a criminal case against Peck. Schneider, whose , alleged inappropriate behavior , with young actors is central to the documentary series,  , recalled , in a March , YouTube video , the support that he said he provided to Bell and his mother when Peck was convicted.
We are shocked and saddened to learn that Drake Bell has been the victim of a 2004 lawsuit, and we applaud and support the courage required to come forward,” Nickelodeon said in a statement when the series first aired in March.
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