Nickelodeon Co-Stars Who Couldn't Stand Each Other
For some reason, Nickelodeon stars tend to have a lot less drama than their Disney Channel counterparts. It's unclear exactly why that is, but maybe it's because none of them ever really had to run off to buy a purity ring or twerk on MTV to shed their good girl image. Nickelodeon was always a bit edgier, especially with shows like Rocko's Modern Life, Ren & Stimpy, and SpongeBob SquarePants, which all pushed the boundaries of what's considered children's entertainment. Let's just say that Disney probably wouldn't have let Rocko work as a phone sex operator (but no judgement on Rocko living his best life as an Australian immigrant — that's not easy!).
Nickelodeon stars still had some on-set drama though, the worst of which nearly shattered our fondest childhood memories like a parental divorce (though it's safe to say no Nick feud was ever as epic as the Lindsay Lohan-Hilary Duff-Aaron Carter love triangle, which was a thing that actually happened).
From the cast of old favorites like All That to newer classics like Victorious, can't everybody just get along?
Is anyone really Victorious in a Nickelodeon castmate feud?
Despite Victorious' cancellation in 2012, Ariana Grande's supposed feud with Victoria Justice is apparently still going strong. Justice was noticeably absent in Grande's video for "Thank U, Next," which featured some of her other Nickelodeon co-stars, and Justice mysteriously ditched out on Grande's headlining Coachella set in 2019 — but is there actually still decade-old drama there?
The alleged feud first came to the surface during a joint Popstar! interview in 2010. It sort of looked like Justice was annoyed while talking about Grande's singing talent, but years later, the star tweeted that the drama was "non-existent." Honestly, it did seem like a stretch. In 2013, rumors stirred yet again when Grande hopped on ask.fm (via Seventeen) shortly after Victorious ended and claimed in part, "The only reason Victorious ended is because [one] girl didn't want to do it. She chose to do a solo tour instead of a cast tour." Though she wasn't mentioned by name, Justice did go on a solo tour during the summer of 2013, which seems suspicious, right? Shortly after Grande's ask.fm claim, Justice tweeted about an unspecified "friend" throwing her under the bus and told TMZ that the cancellation wasn't her fault. "We're not like best friends, but at the end of the day, like, I wish her well," she told the tabloid (seemingly annoyed by the question).
Yup, by the looks of it, these two probably can't stand each other.
Drake and Josh's wedding drama almost ruined our childhood
It's clear that Drake Bell has stumbled upon some hard times since the end of Drake & Josh, but at one point, he didn't even have his on-screen brother to rely on. While Bell was getting alleged DUIs and filing for bankruptcy, Josh Peck was expanding his on-screen portfolio and building a YouTube presence. It seemed like the pair were naturally growing in different directions, and some wedding drama was enough to nearly derail their friendship for good.
There's no denying that our childhood selves always thought Bell was going to be Peck's best man, but it turns out the star wasn't even invited to his Nickelodeon bro's 2017 nuptials — and he was livid. According to Seventeen, Bell tweeted, "When you're not invited to the wedding the message is clear ... True colors have come out today ... Ties are officially cut. I'll miss you brotha." Talk about a major snub.
Thankfully, the pair managed to work it out. In an interview with Digital Spy, Bell admitted that Peck didn't think he'd want to come and "let [his wife] handle it all," because he thought the wedding was a "nightmare" to plan. "Josh and I have had way bigger spats and have been in much more 'I'm never going to talk to you' moments," Bell said. "And then a week later, we're inseparable. I can't get away from him." Ah, the true love-hate balance of brotherhood.
It wasn't all good with Nickelodeon's Good Burger
In 2012, All That fans poured out a cold orange soda to mourn the loss of one of the most dynamic Nickelodeon duos. Kenan and Kel, in all their Good Burger glory, were apparently no more. Did any '90s child ever expect to live in such a cruel world?
It all started when Kel Mitchell told TMZ that Kenan Thompson, who joined the cast of Saturday Night Live in 2003, "does not want to be seen with me in any form of media, or even have my name mentioned around him." In a 2014 interview, he admitted they hadn't spoken since 2007 or 2008 and weren't even Facebook friends. Aw, here it goes.
Apparently, it was the rumor mill that caused their issues in the first place. While speaking with People in 2015, Mitchell denied the long-rumored feud despite the fact that his previous TMZ interviews fed into it. Thompson even told HuffPost, "I heard the same rumors of beef and all that, so I didn't really know, since I hadn't spoken with him ― if there was really a problem or not." Ultimately, Mitchell got Thompson's phone number from All That co-creator Dan Schneider to hash it out once and for all, and they finally had a glorious TV reunion on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon a whopping 15 years after Kenan & Kel aired its last episode.
Jennette McCurdy vs. Ariana Grande
Jennette McCurdy and Ariana Grande played best friends on Sam & Cat, but it seemed like they didn't always get along behind the scenes. The former iCarly star ignited feud rumors when she posted a TwitLonger about ditching a friend who was a "leech for drama and gossip." McCurdy claimed the pair liked to go to amusement parks, watch movies, and have sleepovers before she decided that being around that person made her "the worst version" of herself. As J-14 pointed out, in the past, McCurdy claimed she loved to go to amusement parks, watch movies, and have sleepovers with Grande — suspicious, no?
That same year, McCurdy made headlines for ditching the Kids' Choice Awards, where Grande ended up winning an orange blimp award for her performance in Sam & Cat. According to TMZ, McCurdy was allegedly angry that the future Sweetener singer had a bigger paycheck, but it was apparently nothing personal. In an interview with E! News, McCurdy did her best to dispel feud rumors. Claiming that she and Ari were "very like-minded" and "extremely close," she did admit, "Some like drama and I think we butted heads at times." Fortunately, their fights always happened in a "very sisterly way."
Hey, if you love and hate your sister at the same time, that's how you know the bond is for real.
Oops, they're fighting again
Alexa Nikolas' feud with her Zoey 101 co-star Jamie Lynn Spears wasn't just any feud. According to Nikolas' live-stream in 2019, it was so traumatic that it ultimately resulted in her vomiting in her trailer. So, what actually went down?
In said live-stream, Nikolas admitted that she was always left out by Spears and would eat lunch in her trailer with her mom because nobody would sit with her. "It was like awful, but it started to escalate," she said. The star claimed that it got to the point where she was accosted by Britney Spears (Jamie Lynn's older sister and purveyor of denim-on-denim awards show looks), who threatened to ruin her career. Nikolas was puzzled, because there was never an actual conflict on her end: "It's just like, I've been trying to be friends with [Jamie Lynn] and I've gotten no results from it, you know? And [Britney] was like, 'Nobody messes with my sister,' and she's screaming at me. And then I start like getting sick to my stomach and I start to puke a little bit." Nikolas added, "I'm just like horrified by the whole experience."
Years prior to Nikolas' live-stream reveal, a reported on-set snitch told Page Six (via PopSugar) about the alleged Britney incident. Apparently, the pop star called Nikolas an "evil little girl." This certainly trumps our middle school drama, and it's safe to say that Nikolas and Jamie Lynn never became actual friends.
Things got physical on the set of Nickelodeon's Zoey 101
Alexa Nikolas didn't just have an issue with Jamie Lynn Spears. The actress was allegedly severely bullied by Kristin Herrera, who played Dana Cruz during Season 1. In an eye-opening 2019 live-stream, Nikolas claimed that her two Zoey 101 co-stars formed a unit and habitually bullied and isolated her on set.
Things apparently started in the way most middle school spats do: Spears and Herrera would supposedly have sleepovers and never invite Nikolas. They'd call her an "alien because [she was] so nice" and "make fun of [her] for smiling too much" (girl was, after all, living her dream — she had a right to smile). Nikolas claimed it ate at her self esteem, and she cried so much to her mother that her mom tried to get the crew to intervene. They reportedly told her to grow up (again, she was a middle schooler).
The alleged situation came to a head when Herrera got physical with Nikolas. The actress claimed she was already nervous to be alone with her co-star when they had to go behind some rocks for a scene, adding, "There's nobody there, and she pushes me against the rocks, and you know, just started telling me some like, not so nice things, and I had to then ... pretend we were like friends all of a sudden." Though the crew reportedly still wouldn't intervene, Herrera ultimately left the show before Season 2.
The 'weird dispute' that ended Alexis Nikolas and Victoria Justice's friendship
Poor Alexa Nikolas was hit at all angles while filming Zoey 101. Though Kristin Herrera left after Season 1, things apparently never got fully smoothed over with the rest of the cast. In her 2019 live-stream, Nikolas admitted that she was excited when she heard Victoria Justice had been brought on, because she already knew Justice through their parents. She thought she'd finally have a friend on set, and she did ... but it was short-lived.
Nikolas claimed the pair were fast friends. She was finally doing things with Justice — like sleepovers and hanging out everyday — from which the other girls had excluded her. Unfortunately, their friendship was never the same after they got into what Nikolas described as a "weird dispute." She explained, "I think it was about a boy. It was hilarious, and I wasn't even arguing with her. It was just like something weird happened one day, and all of a sudden, I got to set, and it was bad. Like, she was whispering to everybody and just saying things about me and not being friends with me anymore."
After Nikolas was told to just "be professional," she tried to suck it up. "What the f**k is professional to a kid. I don't know?" she admitted, adding, "Okay, I'm just gonna smile then the whole time, I guess ... pretend that nothing bad is happening?" Nikolas ultimately left the show after two seasons.
Amanda Bynes didn't think Gabriel Iglesias was All That
By 2020, Gabriel Iglesias was resting on a string of well-received Netflix comedy specials and awaiting a stint at the iconic Radio City Music Hall — but at one point, he was just a young actor whose co-star thought wasn't all that funny. It just goes to show you, don't let the haters get you down.
In an interview with Complex, Iglesias spoke about his time on All That. You might forget that the comedian joined the cast for three episodes in 2000. As a reminder, Y2K was a wild time where all of us wanted to be invited to Aaron's party and Amanda Bynes was the epitome of good comedy (no, really, The Amanda Show basically proved it). Apparently, though, Bynes was not a fan of Iglesias when they worked together.
"It really was strange being pulled aside by Amanda Bynes and told, 'You don't know how to be funny.' That was hysterical. I was, 'Okay, I won't be talking to you anymore,'" Iglesias claimed to Complex. Of course, Iglesias did give Bynes a lot of credit, admitting she "worked very hard on the show" and "didn't have enough time to be a regular kid." Bynes basically ruled the roost with her perfectionism. Better luck next time, Fluffy.
Katrina Johnson thought Nickelodeon's Amanda Bynes was 'annoying'
When it comes down to it, Amanda Bynes is still one of the main faces of All That, even if she left before her fellow OG castmates Kenan Thompson and Josh Server. Bynes managed to snag her own spin-off in 1999, which made her somewhat of a pioneer for women in comedy, yet she still wasn't beloved by the entire All That cast. Apparently, Katrina Johnson, who started on the series two years before Bynes, couldn't stand her.
In an interview with Complex, Johnson admitted she thought Bynes was "really annoying," but it was mostly some sort of rivalry towards the new girl. "She was to me what I was to everybody else: the baby, kind of wild and running around," Johnson explained. "When she came along, I could kind of see firsthand how everyone must've looked at me."
Hey, none of us like looking too closely into the mirror. Johnson ultimately left the sketch comedy series in 1997 — long before Bynes would hang up her All That towel — and barely acted again. Johnson's only had two credited roles since, while Bynes went on to become an early aughts comedy icon.