On January 28th, 2012, Nickelodeon aired Season 3, Episode 1 of Victorious, “The Breakfast Bunch.” Since viewing this episode in 2012, there is a specific scene that has been engrained in my head ten years later. In this episode, the cast is put into detention together. The characters Robbie and Cat are alone and crawl seductively towards each other across the school tables. As I was watching this scene, my father coincidentally walked in. He began screaming at me, “How could you watch this garbage? This is wildly inappropriate. Go read the Quran instead of rotting your brain with this Western nonsense!” 

As a child, I never understood why my father was so angry at me for watching a children’s show. However, when I think back to this moment in my childhood, my father’s concerns were valid, and it is obvious that Nickelodeon has a long history of sexual abuse and fetishization towards children.  

At the head of the abuse is Dan Schneider, the creator responsible for the majority of Nickelodeon’s TV shows including iCarly, Victorious, Drake and Josh, Sam & Cat, Henry Danger and Zoey 101.  

In 2011, hacktivist collective Anonymous released a video saying, “For years we have seen what TV has been feeding us, but it is only until now that we have realized the sick acts that Nickelodeon has been performing through out the years. All by the perverted and sick ideas of a man going by the name Dan Schneider.  

This man created shows like Zoey 101, where pre-teen girls were conveniently dressed as sluts, with mini-skirts that no mother would ever let her daughter walk out on. They presented us a perverted and sick world where it was OK for girls aged 12 and 13 to engage in conducts that were everything but respectable and age-appropriate.  

Nickelodeon has been paying thousands of dollars to this man Dan Schneider to keep feeding us this perverted material. Now with shows like iCarly and Victorious where for one, we are led to believe that two girls exposing themselves on the Internet is cool, again, dressing at least one member of the cast in skimpy clothes.  

And Victorious? Half of the cast composed of girls always dressed provocatively, especially Ariana Grande, who apparently has been either convinced and/or forced to always dress provocatively in and out of scene, convenient for pedophiles and sickos out there to feast their eyes upon.  

That is why today, a decision has been made. It is now time that perverted people like Dan Schneider are taught a lesson. Anonymous means change, Anonymous means doing what is right. And what is right is to stop the exploitation of these young girls by unscrupulous producers that kick them away after they made money out of them.  

That is why tonight, all the forces of Anonymous have been set on Operation Black Hawk Down which will bring down all Nickelodeon related sites as well as the official sites of Ariana Grande, Elizabeth Giles, Victoria Justice and many others on Aug. 27. 

Dan Schneider will have to apologize to all these girls he has exploited and the general public through a video in his blog for his perverted actions and will promise that from this day on no more girls will ever be exploited by him and Nickelodeon. Comply with this request and further lessons will be avoided. Non-compliance will result in severe penalties. We suggest you comply. Remember, we are Anonymous, we are legion, we do not forgive, we do not forget, expect us.” 

Flashforward to 2022, actress of iCarly and Sam and Cat, Jennette McCurdy, released her memoir, I’m Glad My Mom Died, that uncovers slimy allegations of sexual and emotional abuse by a person she refers to as “The Creator.”  

McCurdy alleges The Creator attempted to persuade her to drink alcohol when she was a minor, telling her the Victorious kids get drunk together all the time. “The Creator always compares us iCarly kids to the kids on his other hit show, Victorious. I think he thinks it’ll make us try harder,” McCurdy wrote.  

McCurdy’s memoir also paints a disgusting picture of how The Creator gave her an unwelcomed shoulder massage, “I want to say something, to tell him to stop, but I’m so scared of offending him,” McCurdy wrote. 

Another concerning claim made by McCurdy was that Nickelodeon asked that she never spoke publicly about her experiences with The Creator or Nickelodeon in exchange for $300,000.  

McCurdy stated, “I’m glad I didn’t take it because I’m able to talk about it, and I don’t have to have that secret haunt me.”  

With the allegations made by McCurdy it begs the question that if no wrongdoing were done by Nickelodeon or Schneider, then why would they offer hush money? 

Other child stars also expressed discomfort with how they were portrayed on Nickelodeon. Daniella Monet, who played Trina Vega on Victorious, revealed in a 2022 interview with Insider that she voiced concerns about a scene in Victorious where her character consumed a pickle and put lip gloss on simultaneously. Monet felt that this scene was too sexual to be aired on show meant for children.  

“Do I wish certain things, like, didn’t have to be so sexualized? Yeah. A hundred percent,” said Monet. Additionally, Monet was not particularly happy with the costuming claiming that it was “not age appropriate” stating, “I wouldn’t even wear some of that today as an adult.” 

Monet’s costar, Elizabeth Giles, said, “When you and Vic were wrestling in your nonexistent clothing; I watched it as an adult and I’m not even going to go into what I thought because I don’t have to, like that is where I’m going to end that sentence.” 

Schneider’s shows often incorporate strange content involving the feet of young actresses along with sexual innuendos. There was also an instance when Schneider asked fans whom most are minors to send pictures of their feet. On September 13, 2013 the Sam & Cat Twitter account tweeted, “SAM & CAT TOMORROW! Write on the bottom of ur foot, take a pic and use #SAMandCATSaturday we’ll RT and follow until our fingers get sore!” 

Having a foot fetish isn’t something that is inherently wrong, however, broadcasting it on television shows meant for children as well as having young actresses act it out is unacceptable. Additionally, there is a footage of a young Amanda Bynes sitting in a hot tub with Schneider. Other creepy footage shows Schneider hugging and caressing his young actresses. In these videos the actresses looked increasingly uneasy with being touched. 

Although there have not been any proven signs of sexual abuse or misconduct, I think we can all see there is something slimy about Nickelodeon’s TV shows. If you rewatch any of the shows mentioned in this article, I can guarantee you would feel uncomfortable by what you are watching… unless you are a pedophile.