The Sketchiest Things About Ariana Grande's Time On Nickelodeon

You may know Ariana Grande as a Grammy-winning musician, and you might be looking forward to her upcoming role in the "Wicked" film, but long before she became the superstar we know today, Grande's journey included being a Nickelodeon kid. From 2010 to 2013, the musician starred on two major shows for the network, "Victorious" and "Sam & Cat." The shows were filled with fun and laughter, but what was happening behind the scenes was sketchy.

"Quiet on Set," a new docuseries focused on Nickelodeon's controversial bigwigs and their on-set behavior, has shed light on how child actors were mistreated during their time with the network. Several actors from various Nickelodeon shows have specifically called out former producer Dan Schneider as he has come under fire for his abusive and questionable behavior. From suggesting to put sexually explicit jokes in sketches to allegedly mistreating women in the workplace, Schneider is being exposed with the series and is quickly becoming one of Nickelodeon's biggest scandals.

The docuseries has become a hot topic of conversation, and Schneider has since responded in a YouTube video. "Facing my past behaviors, some of which are embarrassing and that I regret," he said. "I definitely owe some people a pretty strong apology." With all this brought to the spotlight, many online users have pointed out clips from shows that, looking back, are highly inappropriate for a children's network. Grande is part of the firestorm, as she had to do some pretty sketchy things during her time with Nickelodeon.

As half of the titular pair on "Sam & Cat," Ariana Grande's character Cat was prone to out-of-the-box behavior, but sometimes the network pushed it too far and made her do highly inappropriate things. One particular clip has surfaced of Grande in character as Cat pouring water on herself in an unsettling way. In the video, she's lying in bed, trying to see if she can drink water upside down. When she attempts to do so, she completely misses her mouth, and the water spills onto her chest and neck. Many are now questioning whether this was an attempt by Dan Schneider to sexualize a then 16-year-old Grande.

The video was even featured in the docuseries "Quiet on Set" to point out a clearly unsettling scene approved by the network and producers. Many viewers took to social media to blame Schneider for the sexualized behavior. One user on X, formerly known as Twitter, wrote, "I watched the episode tonight, it was good. Looking back, that Dan guy was a weirdo. That one scene with Ariana Grande pouring water on herself was, wow, so fkn cringe." 

How did this get approved, let alone happen in the first place? It's the question everyone has been asking, and it wouldn't be the last time Grande was involved in a sketchy scene.

Another Ariana Grande sketch that was brought to the forefront in an installment of "Quiet on Set" involved the "Sam & Cat" actor squeezing a potato. In the segment, Grande's character was trying to test the possibility of getting juice from a potato. The actor can then be seen forcefully squeezing the vegetable while making grunting noises. At one point, Grande even says, "Come on, give up the juice!" After watching the video, many believed this was another uncomfortably sexualized joke from Dan Schneider.

The clip was shown to several participants for "Quiet on Set," and they were left in disbelief that this took place on the network. One individual questioned, "Did that air on Nickelodeon?" Giovonnie Samuels, who you may have forgotten was a child star, was on the Nickelodeon series "All That" around the same time as this toxic environment was happening. She was featured in the docuseries and watched the video of Grande. Absolutely left in shock, Samuels simply responded, "Yikes!"

It hasn't gone unnoticed that this is an incredibly inappropriate scene, as viewers of "Quiet on Set" have voiced their concerns on social media. One X user wrote, "Those Ariana Grande clips were weird af. What in the world. #QuietOnSet." People recognize this was wrong on so many levels and should have never happened.

Former Nickelodeon producer Dan Schneider has been accused of many things, including having a foot fetish. Several clips from various shows during his time on the network have made many believe that Schneider frequently tried to act on this fetish, and that it was a disturbing secret that Nickelodeon tried to hide. Many claimed Schneider encouraged his foot fetish to be played out in sketches, and unfortunately, many have used Ariana Grande as an example of one of the many shows that involved feet in a highly uncomfortable way.

In one skit, Grande's character asks the audience members if they've ever tried to get their big toe in their mouths. She then says, "Check this out," before proving she can do it. It's not a quick scene, cutting to different angles of the "thank u, next" singer with her foot in her mouth lying on her bed. This seemed a bit sketchy to many critics of Schneider, but years before the docuseries aired, the producer shared his thoughts on this rumor.

Schneider told The New York Times in 2021 that his use of foot comedy in his work was because it was "goofy" and that kids find feet "goofy and funny." Schneider insisted, "The comedy was totally innocent." While he excused it back then, many have brought his fascination with feet back to the spotlight, specifically the video of Grande putting her toes in her mouth.

Many believe that the sketchy clips that Ariana Grande had to take part in at Nickelodeon had been uncomfortable for the singer, but they have also pointed out that behind-the-scenes behavior from Dan Schneider may have made Grande even more uncomfortable.

A resurfaced video of Schneider recording the cast behind the scenes of "Victorious" has people making the observation that Grande seemed uncomfortable. The video starts with Grande laughing uncontrollably on the floor before her co-star, Liz Gillies, taps her, seemingly to warn her that Schneider was coming. As Schneider approaches the girls, Grande brings her hair to the front and pulls down her skirt. Grande's reaction to Schneider filming her has many believing that the actor felt distressed around the Nickelodeon producer.

One X user shared their take on the video, saying, "i always think about this whenever people act like liz and ariana weren't clearly victims of dan schneider. i don't want to repost any of the creepy ass skits he made ariana specifically do, but this one behind the scenes where liz tries to warn her always haunts me #QuietOnSet." While the video clearly makes viewers uncomfortable, Grande has not commented on the allegations nor the latest drama surrounding "Quiet on Set." 

In one "Sam & Cat" segment, Cat bets the audience that the sentences she's about to say have never been said before. Two of those sentences, however, were quickly pointed out as inappropriate by social media users following the "Quiet on Set" drama.

In the first sentence, Ariana Grande as Cat says, "Oh man! My uvula got stuck between that hamster's toes." At first, it seems like a silly joke, but Grande proves a uvula can never get stuck on a hamster's toes by gagging herself as she attempts to point out where the uvula is located. This seemed sketchy to those rewatching the it, but the rest of the scene only seemed to reinforce the idea that Grande was being sexualized.

The second sentence starts with Grande yelling at the camera before saying, "Ah I'm soaking wet! Somebody bring me the ocean." This could already be proof that producers were trying to make the segment sexual, but her character's explanation that followed makes it even worse. Grande says as Cat, "No one would ever say that, why? Because if you were soaking wet and you were upset about it, the last thing you'd want is for somebody to bring you the ocean because the ocean is even more wet than even the wettest person in the world." To many, it seemed obvious this was inappropriate as one user remarked, "how did ppl overlook this?"