Ariana Grande gave insights on her experience as a child actor at Nickelodeon for the first time since the bombshell Quiet on Set docuseries exposed the alleged abuse inflicted by producer Dan Schneider.
While speaking with host Penn Badgley on the new episode of the “Podcrushed” podcast, Grande reflected on her 2010-2013 role as Cat Valentine on Victorious.
“I was 14 and I flew out to audition with Liz Gillies for Victorious, and we were all very excited and we got cast and it was the best news we could hear,” the blonde beauty, 30, shared. “We were young performers who just wanted to do this with our lives more than anything, and we got to and that was so beautiful. I think we had some very special memories, and we feel so privileged to have been able to create those roles and be a part of something that was so special for a lot of young kids.”
Though Grande expressed gratitude for the role, she admitted she’s been “reprocessing [my] relationship to it a little bit now, if that makes sense.”
The pop star’s comments come after the Quiet on Set docuseries revealed alleged harassment and misconduct at the network. Star Drake Bell even confessed how he was repeatedly sexually assaulted by Nickelodeon dialogue coach Brian Peck.
Grande expressed it’s been “devastating” to hear stories from former child actors, whom she called “survivors.”
“I think the environment needs to be made safer if kids are going to be acting, and I think there should be therapists,” the “We Can’t Be Friends” artist said. “I think parents should allowed to be wherever they want to be, and I think not only on kids’ sets. If anyone wants to do this, or music, or anything at this level of exposure, there should be in the contract something about therapy is mandatory twice a week or thrice a week, or something like that.”
Grande noted it was “beautiful” that “Liz and I got to fall in love with these characters that we created and learn what it feels like to be so in a character that you can’t separate yourself from it. But yeah, the rest of it is still being worked on.”
The Grammy winner admitted there is a level of uncomfortableness in revisiting certain content from Victorious.
“Specifically about our show, I think that was something that we were convinced was the cool thing about us — is that we pushed the envelope with our humor,” Grande stated. “And the innuendos were…it was like the cool differentiation. And I don’t know, I think it just all happened so quickly and now looking back on some of the clips I’m like, ‘D---, really? Oh s---’…and the things that weren’t approved for the network were snuck on to like our website or whatever.”
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“I guess I’m upset, yeah,” she confessed.