Ex Nickleodeon Star Reveals The Companies Darkest Secrets

Dangerous Dan Schneider

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Schneider was virtually the king of Nickelodeon as the guy responsible for such shows as The Amanda Show, Zoey 101, Drake & Josh, iCarly, and Victorious until he unexpectedly quit the network in 2018 after an investigation revealed that he had verbally mistreated his young stars. Later, Jennette McCurdy, star of iCarly, said that "the creator" had offered her a drink and massaged her shoulders without her permission.

Where were the parents?

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Nickelodeon programs were non-union productions back in the day, so weren't subject to restraints like needing guardians on site. In fact, parents were strictly forbidden from attending since the producers didn't want any interference from them, especially since the youngsters would be filming scenes in their underwear.

Far from Gak

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We'll all remember the green slime Nickelodeon used in their game shows, and that was called Gak. However, Marc Summers, presenter of Double Dare, claimed in 2013 that the moniker Gak was inspired by a slang word for heroin. The fact that Marc Summers is familiar with heroin is quite alarming.

The stars was awfully sexualized

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Ariana Grande, who was drenched with water while wearing a bikini and shown eating her own toes, is only one in a long line of Nickelodeon stars who were sexualized. Schneider's performances and Twitter feed have an odd fixation with the toes and feet. Schneider said the jokes were only trying to be "goofy and funny," but anybody who doesn't realize they shouldn't be asking young girls to pose with their feet probably shouldn't be watching children's programming.

Ezel Channel's firing

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Even though Nickelodeon should have known better in 2003 when they recruited Ezel Channel as an animator, he began arranging tours of the studio to children where he would abuse them. While he was found guilty of sexual battery and trying to display harmful material to a child, the latter charge was eventually dismissed on the grounds that the content in question may not have qualified as porn.

The habits of Jason Handy

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Jason Handy, a former Nickelodeon production assistant who abused children while working there, was given a six-year jail term in 2004. He was an outright predator, since he preyed on youngsters both from his church and neighborhood and from the studio where they were already employed.

The list of molesters never ended

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One of the teenage ladies who wanted to become an animator allegedly moved in with Ren & Stimpy's creator when she was just 17. He acknowledged the relationships but placed the blame on mental illness and addiction, which we all know make people become abusive jerks in positions of power.

Ignoring child abuse claims

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Angelique Bates, a former performer on All That, has said her mother physically, emotionally, mentally abused her on set, and that there was absolutely nothing done to try and help her. In fact, she was forced to keep quiet even after CPS was summoned to the set.

The stars didn't get paid nearly enough cash

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Nickelodeon stars were for sure riddled out of loads of money. Josh Peck, half of Drake & Josh, made roughly the same as a middle-level software developer despite his widespread fame. Unlike most TV stars, they don't get residual payments if their customers claim to have seen them on Nick at Nite.

Anti Semitism in their shows

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Rugrats was praised for its inclusive portrayal of religions, including the inclusion of a Jewish family. But there was also backlash over one scene in which Grandpa Boris, who is Jewish like the rest of the family, is depicted as a stereotypical joke about Jews. Many people felt it was inappropriate for a children's program because of the similarities to Nazi depictions of Jews. As a result of the backlash, Nickelodeon decided to just remove the character from the show.

Irresponsible shows

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A 16-year-old teenager murdered his neighbor in a seemingly random and horrific assault in 2005, and it was discovered that he had told his pals that an episode of Invader Zim inspired his interest in organ harvesting. The show had actually been cancelled three years prior, so Nickelodeon took no blame.

Blatant plagiarism

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Following the 2020 announcement of the network's new program Made By Maddie, comparisons to the 2019 Oscar-winning short film Hair Love began to surface. The fact that a white lady had developed Made By Maddie, a sitcom about a black family, didn't help matters. They just ended up scrapping it.

Predators on set

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More than a dozen women came forward to accuse Nickelodeon animator and producer Chris Savino of sexual misconduct in 2017, leading to his dismissal from the company. In contrast to the other disgraced Nickelodeon staffers, he seems to have focused only on adults.

The truth behind Nickelodeon's distressing logo

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Believe it or not, the owners of Nickelodeon weren't always about creating a fun, loving atmosphere for the kids. There's a dark secrets behind the colors used in their logo. Apparently, the designers intentionally chose bright orange and green because they're international distress colors, hoping to invoke panic in kids brains.

Shady child labor laws

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Regulations of the entertainment business become much more important when minors are involved. And when the majority of the cast is comprised of children things may become sticky. When Nickelodeon originally began, child performers were not protected by any specific laws. In those days, performers received a flat fee for appearing in a single production. They did not get any kind of ongoing payment for every time an episode broadcast, unlike nowadays.

Murderous actors

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Ricardo Medina Jr. became well recognized for his 2002 role as the iconic Red Wild Force Ranger in Power Rangers Wild Force. In Nickelodeon's Power Rangers: Samurai spin-off, he played his role as Dekker. However, when he stabbed his roommate to death in 2015 he disappointed his followers. He first prevailed in court by pleading self-defense, and he was granted his freedom in 2016, but eventually pleaded involuntary manslaughter.

What were the censors there for?

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Some of us may remember Rocko's Modern Life. It was infamous for having adult themes presented in subtle ways, yet being deemed inappropriate for children. Nonetheless, there was one joke that couldn't be left in the program and had to be cut before it aired. The scene depicts Rocko and Heffer stay at the No Tell Motel and have to explain that they want a room for the whole night rather than the usual 20 minutes.

The Ghostbuster lawsuit

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Many people attribute the origin of the word "slimed" to the 1984 release of Ghostbusters. However, Ghostbusters' producers sued Nickelodeon, claiming the kids' network had stolen their idea to utilize slime, but Nickelodeon counter-sued, stating it had been using slime for years. The case was dismissed.

The crew liked their substances

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Believe it or not, both cast and crew have admitted that they were high while working at Nickelodeon. The cast and crew of several Nickelodeon episodes report that they like watching the shows when high. Picture being high as a kite and witnessing someone get slimed.

The game shows traumatized kids

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We all remember the fun and amazing game shows that appeared on Nickelodeon. A contestant on Legends of the Hidden Temple spoke out about how she was left traumatized by the show. As a kid, it's apparently not helpful to have scary things jumping out at you and know she's “deathly afraid of things popping out of closets and doors.”

Some were even teased for years afterwards

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Following on from the previous point, some kids even got tormented for years after appearing in an episode. One GUTS contestant spoke out about how he became the victim of bullying after he lost out to two girls on the show. When everything appeared to calm down, the show would be aired again and it started all over.

Ignoring the needs of their cast

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Marc Summers, host of perhaps television's messiest program, Double Dare, revealed that he suffered from severe OCD. He complained more than once that he felt uneasy working on Double Dare because of all the filth, messiness, and general pandemonium.

The game shows were FAR too challenging

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You'd think that a company like Nickelodeon would have loads to give out, but Legends of the Hidden Temple could only afford to give out eight annual championships, hence the temple run was made on purpose to be very difficult. Space camp was out of reach for most of the youngsters.

Treating shows unfairly

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Come on, the best show on Nickelodeon by far was Avatar: The Last Airbender. This is a widely accepted truth, even by and it's puzzling that they didn't make more of an effort to make sure its follow-up, The Legend of Korra, was just as successful. They treated it badly by broadcasting it at inconvenient times and decreasing its budget. In fact, it was canceled and switched to a streaming-only format in 2014.

Shows too dark for child viewing

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Does anyone remember that one program: Aaahh!!! Real Monsters. Similar to Monsters, Inc., it followed three best buddies monsters as they attended monster school to acquire the art of human fright. The program eventually had to tone down its dark undertones. Kids clearly loved it, but when the program was transformed into "just another basic children's show," it fell out of favor and was finally canceled.

Misleading "live" shows

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Among Nickelodeon's many quiz programs, Figure It Out is a standout. But, believe it or not, the broadcast was recorded in advance. This wouldn't normally be a huge deal, except that the program always stated at the beginning of each episode that it was shot in front of a live studio audience.

No, you didn't get to keep the prizes

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A gold medal and a piece of the route were awarded to anybody who made it to the top of Aggros Crag. You received lots of celebrations and congratulations, and looked forward to returning home with your trophy. Yet, when the cameras stopped filming, you were only sent a cheap replica of your "trophy" in the mail.

Too many adult themes in their shows

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One thing Nickelodeon was quite good at was making some pretty decent shows we all get to enjoy. But as a kid, there's just some things you don't need to know. For example, there was a scene in Hey Arnold in which Helga saw a psychologist and opened up about the neglect she experienced.

Cannibalism themes

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Following on from the last point, there was quite a traumatic scene in Mr Meaty too, which probably (definitely!) wasn't appropriate for their young audiences. In this particular scene, character Parker was tied up and almost eaten alive by a group of cannibals.

Depression in As Told by Ginger

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Depression is definitely something children should be aware about, given how prevalent it is in today's society. In one episode of As Told by Ginger, Ginger wrote such a disturbing poem as part of a writing contest that everyone thought he was depressed.