Ariana Grande Breaks Silence on Nickelodeon Allegations, Says ‘Environment Needs to Be Made Safer’ for Industry Kids

The docuseries explored some of the toxic cultures of children’s television shows in the 1990s and 2000s, including many series produced by Schneider — i.e., All That, The Amanda Show and Zoey 101. Former actors, writers and crew members from the hit Nickelodeon shows detailed the sexual abuse, harassment and racial discrimination that allegedly went on behind the scenes.

Ariana Grande in New York City on May 6, 2024.Jamie McCarthy/Getty

“A lot of people don’t have the support that they need to get through performing at that level at such a young age, but also dealing with some of the things that the survivors who have come forward…there’s not a word for how devastating that is to hear,” the Grammy winner said.

“I think that the environment needs to be made safer if kids are going to be acting, and I think there should be therapists, I think there should be parents allowed to be wherever they want to be,” she continued, adding that parents should be permitted everywhere, “not only on kids sets.”

“I think if anyone wants to do this or music or anything at any level of exposure that it means to be on TV or to do music with a major label or whatever, [it] should be in the contract,” Grande said.

Ariana Grande in New York City on June 6, 2024.Todd Owyoung/NBC via Getty

The multi-hyphenate admitted that young performers are vulnerable to reactions to their performances from adults on set, which create “a strange pattern that occurs where it’s really taking advantage of how much it means to the young performer to get a laugh from Video Village.”

She continued: “You’re like, ‘Oh s—, I’m doing something great.  Like, this is funny, this is good.’ ”

But Grande recognized that she’s speaking from her own experience on her show, noting how she and her castmates — Victoria Justice, Daniella Monet, Leon Thomas III, Matt Bennett, Elizabeth Gillies and Avan Jogia — “pushed the envelope with [their] humor.”

“And the innuendos were like, we were told and convinced as well that it was the cool differentiation.  And I don’t know, I think it all just happened so quickly and now looking back on some of the clips I’m like, ‘That’s… damn, really?’ ”

Grande added: “The things that weren’t approved for the network were snuck on to like our website or whatever it was, and that is another discovery.  But I’m going into it…I guess I’m upset.”

Ariana Grande in “Victorious” in 2010.Nickleodeon Production/Schneider’S Bakery/Sony Music/Kobal/Shutterstock

The Thank U, Next singer added that she believes for those pursuing these career trajectories with such large scales, “there should be an element that is mandatory of therapy, of a professional person to unpack what this experience of your life-changing so drastically does to you at a young age, at any age.”

A source close to the singer also tells PEOPLE, “While Ariana’s personal experience as a child actor was not the same as those who have spoken out, the issues recently raised have allowed her to have a look back at her time as a young professional through an adult lens with a new and different perspective.”

“As said on the podcast, Ariana is devastated by the stories from survivors who have come forward and supports and urges more conversations to happen around how to protect young professionals in the industry,” adds the insider.

Daniella Monet, Ariana Grande, Avan Jogia, Victoria Justice, Leon Thomas III, Elizabeth Gillies and Matt Bennett in 2010. Nickelodeon / Courtesy: Everett Collection

New episodes of Podcrushed arrive Wednesdays on podcast streaming platforms. All five episodes of Quiet on Set are available to stream on Max.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AAQGlvnFc1E