28 Nickelodeon Scenes And Jokes That Were Suuuuper Inappropriate And Problematic Looking Back
A while back, we asked the BuzzFeed Community to tell us about moments from Nickelodeon shows that were actually pretty problematic looking back. And recently, Nickelodeon and its shows have been in the news again after the release of Jennette McCurdy's memoir, I'm Glad My Mom Died.
In talking about her time at Nickelodeon (on shows iCarly and Sam & Cat), McCurdy spoke of her difficult experiences and an unnamed figure named The Creator, who many believe to be Dan Schneider, who created a number of popular shows on the network in the '90s, 2000s, and 2010s. While McCurdy's experience was specific to two shows, there have been many rumors of abuse complaints against Schneider, and he parted ways with the network in 2018, though the official story is that it was a natural time to end their partnership.
In the years since these shows, many fans have pointed out a sexualization of young girls in Schneider's shows (particularly having to do with feet) — and there are a number of other problematic and inappropriate moments on his shows, as well as on other Nickelodeon shows from around the same period. Here are 28 that really bother people.
Note: Some submissions include topics of eating disorders, anti-trans language, and young girls being sexualized.
1.Everything about Alex's crush on his babysitter Jesse in The Naked Brothers Band, but ESPECIALLY this scene from the movie where he kissed her boobs:
This is made even worse by the fact that the actors were cousins.
Note: Schneider was not a producer on this series.
2.On iCarly, just everything about Sam and food:
While producers were unaware of Jennette McCurdy's eating disorder, they still went against her wishes in continuing to include these jokes despite them making her uncomfortable. Sam's obsession with food is constantly used for comedy, and even beyond the actor's eating disorder, the jokes hinge on problematic.
3.Any time young girls were sexualized on Dan Schneider's shows, but especially in the Victorious bonus scene when Cat tried to drink water upside down, but it was super sexual:
"The bonus clip of Ariana Grande as Cat in Cat’s bedroom, lying backward with her face upside down and writhing whilst pouring water on her face and chest. Dan [Schneider] labelled it as her trying to drink water upside down, but anyone who’s watched it knows the angles and the little girl sounds she makes are suggestive of something else."
4.And when she squeezed the potato in the same clip:
"That whole entire little extra series with Cat had a lot of disturbing moments. There’s also a scene where she rubs a potato for no reason that’s another clear sexual reference."
5.And in yet another bonus clip, when Cat tries to stick her toe in her mouth:
Suggested by arcticmankeys
6.Also, when Cat was surrounded by guys shooting water guns at her in a clear pornographic reference:
"Vile stuff."
7.And a similarly inappropriate scene where Zoey was squirted with candy on Zoey 101:
While this could have been innocent, considering the amount of times similar gags were pulled and the fact that Schneider was also behind this show...it looks bad.
8.All the times Spencer dressed as a woman on iCarly and it was played for laughs, but especially the time he dressed as Great Aunt Natalie and was called a "man lady":
"There was another hecka transphobic scene in iCarly, where Spencer dresses as an old woman and he is hit on by an old man, found out, called a “man lady,” and then, they call security. Like, what the hell — a literal trans panic scene."
9.On Victorious, when Beck made a joke about his aunt being transgender and purposefully misgendered her to make a joke:
Suggested by thefunkyonion
10.On Drake & Josh, when Drake told Josh to get a sex change so it'd be easier to break up with Mindy:
Still not really sure of the logic of this one.
11.Also on Drake and Josh, when Josh impulsively kissed a woman passing by, and then her voice was super deep, which was accompanied with a laugh track and Josh looking horrified:
Josh was also horrified because she transferred gum into his mouth, but even if you argue that's the entire reason for his horror, the audience clearly "ooohs" and laughs before this reveal (directly after her deep voice). Also, Josh is a teenager just grabbing a random woman (who looks older than a teenager) and kissing her.
12.Everything about this skit about drinking from a sumo wrestler's belly on The Amanda Show:
13.All the jokes about men in dresses on Drake & Josh, like when Josh dressed up as a woman to write his advice column run by his female alter ego, and Drake called him a freak:
14.And when Josh's dad dressed in a prom dress that Drake's mom was working on for their neighbor, who Megan thought was a boy — and then shuddered after hearing the neighbor speak in a low voice:
15.On Ned's Declassified School Survival Guide, when Cookie dressed as a woman to spend more time with Lisa:
And then, there's a whole storyline about Loomer having a crush on Simone and Cookie being freaked out. I'm not saying you can never do drag on a kid's show (nothing wrong with drag at all!), but it's always played for laughs and a gross-out factor, like dressing outside of societal norms for your gender is a disgusting trick.
Note: Schneider was not a producer on this series.
16.When Victorious had a whole plot line about Trina and Cat using Tori's underwear as tissues, in public and without her permission...oh, and also a throwaway comment about Tori's underwear being "giant":
17.Similarly, on Zoey 101, when Chase mistook Coco's underwear for a pillowcase in a fat-shaming joke:
What is it with these shows and women's underwear???
18.On SpongeBob SquarePants, when Mr. Krabs took Patrick and SpongeBob on a "panty raid," and they broke into a woman's house to steal her underwear:
The episode was even pulled due to its storyline.
Note: Schneider was not a producer on this series.
19.On Zoey 101, when Logan spied on the girls with a hidden camera:
This is just so creepy, and while the show doesn't present Logan's actions as good, he doesn't face close to enough punishment. A lot of his predatory behavior is brushed off as acceptable for a boy of his age, especially one so interested in girls.
20.On Victorious (and in bonus features of Cat), when they constantly made a joke out of Cat and her brother's mental health:
Suggested by eivor1612
21.On The Fairly OddParents, when there was an entire episode dedicated to showing how everyone would be better off without Timmy:
This is soooo messed up to me. The whole "everyone would be better off without me" fear is common for people dealing with depression and suicidal thoughts, so to have an episode where Timmy actually disappears and everyone actually IS better off without him, with no real silver lining...was really messed up.
Note: Schneider was not a producer on this series.
22.Just everything about "Crazy Steve" on Drake & Josh:
Nickelodeon
While no one can deny that Jerry Trainor is hilarious, this character was super offensive in that he was always played for laughs.
23.On Zoey 101, when Stacey's lisp was constantly played for laughs, right up until she was hit by a car and "cured":
24.On Zoey 101, when one of Quinn's inventions made her boobs look bigger, and Michael jokingly gave her a "D+":
Not the worst one on the list, but still an inappropriate joke.
25.On iCarly, when a Confederate flag was just randomly hanging in a classroom:
Suggested by drink_water_1
26.On Sam & Cat, when people with dwarfism were used for comedic purposes and referred to as things rather than people:
Suggested by sarahe4c48a21ee
27.On iCarly, when the episode "iGo to Japan" was filled with racist stereotypes and vilification of Japanese characters:
"I think the whole iCarly episode of 'iGo to Japan' needs to be scrutinized. The whole episode was a racist, insulting stereotype."
28.And finally, on Victorious, when a Breakfast Club-themed episode suggested that Robbie should be embarrassed about being a virgin, and made a clear homage to a scene in which the Breakfast Club characters were high:
"That one episode of Victorious where Robbie doesn't want to try a taco, and they literally make fun of him by calling him a vegan."
"[It] was supposed to be a parody/homage of The Breakfast Club; the scene where they eat tacos was supposed to be in the movie where they smoke weed, and 'vegan' was their more kid-friendly version of 'virgin.' So yeah, still kinda fucked up considering how it was definitely not a kids movie."
Note: Submissions have been edited for length/clarity.
