'Victorious' Star Claims Nickelodeon Refused to Cut Questionable Scene Despite Her Concerns
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Daniella Monet notes she asked the network to cut a scene that she felt was too racy.
Actress Daniella Monet is opening up about her personal experience at Nickelodeon amid reports that executives at the network commonly sexualized cast members across Victorious, Zoey 101, Sam & Cat and more hit series.
Monet, 33, who played the role of Trina Vega on Victorious, recently sat down for an interview with Insider, where she revealed that she once contacted Nickelodeon about a scene where her character ate a pickle while applying lip gloss, which she thought was too sexual to air. However, the network aired it anyway.
According to the report, filming scenes with sexual innuendos wasn't uncommon on the multiple Nickelodeon children shows produced by Dan Schneider, who has been accused of inappropriate behavior on multiple occasions, per Vanity Fair.
Monet—who was 18 when the show started filming—stated that while most of Victorious was "very PC, funny, silly, friendly, chill," there would be questionable scenes every once in a while.
"Do I wish certain things, like, didn’t have to be so sexualized?” she told the outlet. “Yeah. A hundred percent.”
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But Monet claimed that Schneider wasn't the only one to blame, as the network had to sign off on everything. She also named male-dominated writing rooms as part of the problem as well.
Extra scenes from Victorious involving Ariana Grande have also raised eyebrows after viewers pointed out the questionable nature of the online clips, some of which feature Grande putting her toe in her mouth and pouring water on herself while hanging upside down on her bed.
As stated in the Insider report, two writers on the show have since come forward claiming that Schneider was "almost singularly responsible," for the hyper-sexualized scenes, with one saying that the writers "largely avoided set when the web shows were being shot because they were largely very cringe."
Monet and other Nickelodeon alums have also spoken up about some of the actors' outfits, which Monet said were commonly "not age appropriate."
"I wouldn't even wear some of that today as an adult," she noted in the interview.
Former iCarly star Jenette McCurdy also recalled feeling uncomfortable when trying on a bikini during a wardrobe fitting, which she details in her new memoir, I'm Glad My Mom Died.
"I asked if I could please just try on one-pieces with board shorts, the way that I feel most comfortable in a bathing suit," she wrote, adding that the wardrobe designer at the time told her Schneider—who she only refers to as "The Creator" in her book—had explicitly asked for two-pieces.
Schneider, who left Nickelodeon in 2018 as a result of an investigation by parent company ViacomCBS, denied the claims against him in a piece for The New York Times back in June 2021.
As stated in the Times article, the investigation found no evidence of sexual misconduct by Schneider although many "viewed him as verbally abusive."
Other former Nickelodeon stars, including Zoey 101 alum Alexa Nikolas, are still calling for Schneider to be brought to justice, with many hoping that McCurdy's bombshell memoir could prompt more people to come forward about the alleged abuse.
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