Nickelodeon's Biggest Scandals Ever

Producer and writer Dan Schneider was involved with some of the most popular Nickelodeon shows throughout the 1990s and up until 2018. He produced "All That" and "Kenan & Kel," and created some of Nick's biggest hits, including "The Amanda Show," "Zoey 101," "Drake & Josh," "iCarly," "Victorious," and "Sam & Cat."

However, at the height of the #MeToo movement, rumors started to swirl about the showrunner. Users on the internet started to make note of his alleged obsession with feet. The Nickelodeon logo was once a foot and some connected this with Schneider's possible foot fetish. Feet have also been a reoccurring theme on many of his Nick shows (fans have compiled these instances on X, formerly known as Twitter), including a scene where Ariana Grande puts her own toe in her mouth, and Miranda Cosgrove gets her toe stuck in the faucet while in the bathtub. The official X account of the series "Sam & Cat" also tweeted an odd request in 2013 for their young fans to "write on the bottom of [their] foot" and share the pictures under a hashtag, guaranteeing they would retweet "until [their] fingers are sore."

The New York Times directly asked about the foot fetish accusations, and Schneider claimed "the comedy" was "totally innocent." The publication described his explanation as: "Kids find feet goofy and funny," and said he dismissed the claims made on social media as "ridiculous." 

Even after he left Nickelodeon in 2018, Dan Schneider has continued to face additional scrutiny from both the public and former employees. The 2024 documentary series, "Quiet on Set: The Dark Side of Kids TV," highlighted the alleged trauma, emotional abuse, gender discrimination, and overall harrowing experiences that many child actors and behind-the-scenes workers endured on Schneider's Nickelodeon shows in the late 1990s and 2000s.

Schneider took to YouTube after the series premiered to address the allegations in an interview with former "iCarly" actor, BooG!e. "There's definitely things that I would do differently," he shared in the interview. "The main thing that I would change is how I treat people and everyone. I definitely at times didn't give people the best of me. I didn't show enough patience. I could be cocky and definitely over-ambitious, and sometimes just straight up rude and obnoxious, and I am so sorry that I ever was."

But a number of people did not think Schneider's public apology was up to par. "You're embarrassed? Not embarrassed enough! Not embarrassed enough to, like, go reach out to the people you actually harmed," former "Zoey 101" actor Alexa Nikolas shared in a scathing YouTube video. "You don't feel anything, Dan ... You have no idea what [accountability] is. You're searching for it, maybe, but you haven't landed on it. That's for sure. This is not the way."

John Kricfalusi, the man behind the Nickelodeon cult classic cartoon, "The Ren & Stimpy Show," has been linked to accusations of predatory behavior. He allegedly took advantage of two fans in the 1990s who were aspiring animators. Speaking with BuzzFeed News in 2018, the alleged victims, Robyn Byrd and Katie Rice, recalled their unsettling interactions with Kricfalusi when they were only teenagers.

Byrd said she reached out to Kricfalusi in 1994 when she was 13 years old. Kricfalusi, who was 39 at the time, began communicating with her and eventually began a sexual relationship with her when she was 16. He then coaxed her into a relationship under the guise of mentorship, routinely taking lewd photos of Byrd and sharing them with others without her consent. "He ruined a good bit of my childhood and my early adulthood, gave me PTSD, and forced me to change careers," Byrd told the outlet.

Like Byrd, Rice began communicating with Kricfalusi in writing as a teen, before becoming his collaborator. Although they never had sexual contact, Rice alleged Kricfalusi repeatedly attempted to cross that line with her. "I became a better artist by working for him," she recounted. "I'm not grateful for it. I wish I hadn't. I wish I were a worse artist now and I didn't have all this bulls*** to deal with." Kricfalusi was no longer at Nickelodeon when Rice and Byrd's made their accusations, but Nickelodeon still declined comment on it to both BuzzFeed and other outlets.

Actor Brian Peck, known for his role in "The Return of the Living Dead," worked on several Nickelodeon shows in the late 1990s and early 2000s, including making appearances in sketches and working as the dialogue coach on the set of "All That" and "The Amanda Show." He was also apparently a vital part of the "All That" boot camp with Dan Schneider. According to the Daily Mail, he was convicted of "a lewd act against a child and oral copulation of a person under 16" in 2004 and became a registered sex offender.

The underage victim, who was reportedly a Nickelodeon star at the time, was only named as John Doe in the case "for fear of it having a negative affect on his career." Nickelodeon has never made an official statement in response to the controversy, and when the Daily Mail asked Peck directly if "he was sorry to the actor he abused," he responded, "I don't have any comment on it, I really don't."

Shockingly, Peck returned to work on a kids' show after serving 16 months in jail. This wasn't at Nickelodeon, but his post-conviction credits do include "The Suite Life of Zack and Cody" on the Disney Channel.

Several rising actors of the 1990s and 2000s wrote letters of support during the sentencing of now-convicted sex offender Brian Peck. These actors included "X-Men" star James Marsden, Taran Killam, along with "Boy Meets World" actors Will Friedle and Rider Strong. The latter pair later discussed their regret about their decision to defend their former friend and castmate in a February 2024 episode of the "Pod Meets World" podcast.

In the episode, Friedle claimed that based on the story that Peck had spun to them, he was in denial that his friend could be in the wrong. "My instinct initially was, 'My friend, this can't be. It's gotta be the other person's fault,'" Friedle revealed in the episode. "The story makes complete sense the way that he's saying it."

But by the time that Peck faced trial, in which the victim's — Drake Bell's — parents even addressed the court, the actors changed pace. "We're sitting in that courtroom on the wrong side of everything," Friedle continued. "The victim's mother turned and said, 'Look at all the famous people you brought with you. And it doesn't change what you did to my kid.' I just sat there wanting to die. It was like, 'What the hell am I doing here?' ... We weren't told the whole story, but it doesn't change the fact that we did it."

Jennette McCurdy played Sam Puckett on Nickelodeon's "iCarly" and later on the spin-off, "Sam & Cat," alongside Ariana Grande. In March 2014, lingerie selfies of the actor were leaked online. To some, the leaked photos were scandalous, as is often the case when a child star does something that reveals they are actually an adult (McCurdy was 21 years old at the time).

The next month, McCurdy skipped the Kids' Choice Awards, spurring speculation that the photos caused a rift between her and Nickelodeon. She explained her absence on X (via The Washington Post), denying the photos played a role, but rather, that she "was put in an uncomfortable, compromising, unfair situation" by Nickelodeon, and that she "chose to not go because sticking up for what is right and what is fair is what [her] mom taught [her] is ALWAYS the most important thing."

Nickelodeon didn't respond, but the drama rolled on from there, including an alleged salary feud between Grande and McCurdy. "Sam & Cat" ended up axed after just one season. Grande was effusive about the whole situation, but McCurdy had ... thoughts, posting on Reddit (via The Hollywood Reporter) that she "left Nickelodeon" in order "to move forward with [her] life." She further explained: "To remove myself from the role model battle, the falsified standard set by the bubblegum industry, is — in my eyes — to remove myself from the counterintuitive battle of attempting to be something perfect while being glaringly aware of my imperfections."

In 2012, Nickelodeon decided to reboot "The Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles" in an animated series, casting Jason Biggs as the voice of Leonardo. Biggs, however, is known for his at-times controversial comedy and tweeted a string of lewd tweets right after Nickelodeon had encouraged "Ninja Turtle" fans to follow the actor.

Nickelodeon promptly issued an apology (via The Hollywood Reporter): "Nickelodeon does not support or condone the use of graphic or vulgar language on any of our platforms ... It was our mistake to link from our 'Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles' twitter feed to Jason's personal twitter account, and we quickly corrected our error. We also insisted Jason use better judgment and discretion in public communications while affiliated with our brand."

Nickelodeon quietly replaced Biggs with actor Seth Green for Season 4 of the series in 2014, making no public comment about the reason for his ousting. In a 2018 appearance on Dax Shepard's "Armchair Expert" podcast, however, Biggs admitted the tweets resulted in Nickelodeon firing him. He said that despite warnings from the network, he "doubled down" and continued with more vulgar tweets, resulting in the network continuing to receive backlash for employing him. The "American Pie" star explained he was struggling with addiction at the time, and that the whole episode "traumatized" him and served as a "huge wake-up call."  

Angelique Bates was one of the original cast members of Nickelodeon's sketch comedy show, "All That." In 2016, she opened up to The Shade Room about her experience on set, discussing how she was abused in front of producers who did nothing to help. Without naming her abuser, Bates explained, "I was only 12 years old ... I was physically, mentally, emotionally abused in front of the producers and cast members and sometimes they could even hear me yelling, but nothing was done to help me."

The details of Bates's allegations remain unclear, though The Shade Room suggested that the abuse "at the hands of her mother" before the publication released an exclusive statement from her mother, D. Bates, noting that she, "doesn't come out saying she was the one who actually abused Angelique." The statement from D. seemingly placed blame on Nickelodeon and "All That" producers. According to Angelique, Child Protective Services did show up in 1996, but she said the adults on set "pressured" her to "stay silent." Her mother claimed, "Nickelodeon and the Producers of 'All That' only contacted CPS after the Police became involved," adding that it was merely "an attempt to cover their own butts."

In a video for Inner Warrior, Angelique explained that she was "released from [her] contract" at age 15. "When I was a child star dealing with aspects of the child abuse," she said, "It pretty much affected the workplace which later affected my adulthood because I was blackballed."

Several Nickelodeon stars have been involved with scandals after their time with the network ended, including Amanda Bynes, the young comedian who starred in her own sketch comedy show, "The Amanda Show."

In 2010, Bynes abruptly announced on X, formerly known as Twitter, (via CBS News) that she was retiring from acting. In 2012, the actor made headlines concerning a series of driving-related legal issues, including DUIs and a couple of hit-and-runs. Then, in 2013, she was "held at a hospital for mental evaluation after setting a small fire" in an L.A. neighborhood, according to The Hollywood Reporter. She also received negative media attention for her social media posts during this time.

After disappearing from the public eye for several years, Bynes sat down with Paper in 2018 and explained that her behavior during those years was due to drug use. "The mixture of marijuana and whatever other drugs and sometimes drinking really messed up my brain," she said. "It really made me a completely different person ... I would never feel, say or do any of the things that I did and said to the people I hurt on Twitter."

Bynes has since stepped in and out of the spotlight through social media, podcast endeavors, and even a highly publicized rocky relationship with former fiancé Paul Michael. Yet, according to TMZ, when she and her parents were approached to participate in the "Quiet on Set" documentary about Nickelodeon's troubling past, the Bynes family declined.

In "Zoey 101," Nickelodeon's series about tweens and teens at a boarding school in California, Matthew Underwood portrayed Logan Reese, a bratty classmate of the main character, Zoey, played by Jamie Lynn Spears. Underwood managed to mostly stay out of the limelight as a teen, but in 2012, the former Nickelodeon star made headlines after he was arrested on misdemeanor charges (via E!) of "suspicion of cannabis and paraphernalia possession and contributing to the delinquency of a minor" in Florida.

According to the report, Underwood, who was 22 at the time, was found in the bedroom of his home with a 17-year-old girl after police entered with a "narcotics search warrant." The officers found he possessed marijuana, and claimed that the girl admitted that Underwood "[gave] her marijuana" hence the "contributing to the delinquency of a minor" charge.

Underwood, however, later disputed that claim by police, telling TC Palm that the girl, who he identified as his girlfriend "definitely doesn't smoke marijuana in my home." He also asserted that the police only targeted him because he was on the cusp of opening his local hookah lounge, and his high-profile arrest would put the kibosh on the business, which he claimed encountered lots of local government opposition. A Port St. Lucie police spokesman denied that assertion. But it's not all bad headlines for the former Nick star; In 2017, he garnered attention after he heroically saved a baby from a car crash.

Who doesn't know the answer to: "Who lives in a pineapple under the sea?" SpongeBob SquarePants has become one the biggest pop culture icons to ever come out of Nickelodeon. His lasting legacy is partly due to the fact that the humor of the series appeals to a wide range of ages. But there were times when its humor was accused of crossing into too-adult territory.

In 2018, the 2003 "SpongeBob SquarePants" episode, "Mid-life Crustacean," was pulled from the rerun circulation and streaming services, according to NBC News. In the episode, SpongeBob and Patrick take Mr. Krabs on a "panty raid" that ends with Mr. Krabs accidentally going through his mother's underwear drawer. After 15 years, the episode was re-evaluated and pulled "following a standards review in which we determined some story elements were not kid-appropriate," said David Bittler, the executive vice president of communications at Nickelodeon. Another episode titled "Kwarantined Crab" was also pulled "due to sensitivities surrounding the global, real-world pandemic."

"SpongeBob" isn't the only Nick cartoon that has faced controversies. Recapping "Rocko's Modern Life" series creator Joe Murray's commentary on a special DVD collection of the series, Collider reported that the episode "Leap Frogs" had been "banned for a time because of the overt sexual tones." 

It may have been your childhood dream to be a contestant on the Nickelodeon show "Legends of the Hidden Temple," but count your blessings if you never got the opportunity. Apparently, the show was actually a pretty horrifying experience that has left at least one contestant scarred for life. 

A former contestant, Keeli, told SBNation in 2013 that her experience on the show was traumatizing. She claimed the Temple Guards (the masked men hiding within the course) was the worst part, saying, "Nothing is scarier and I will stand by that statement until the day I die." The experience had a lasting impact. She further explained while she couldn't directly link her fears in adulthood to the show, at age 31, she still couldn't "go to haunted houses" and was "deathly afraid of things popping out of closets and doors."

It has also been revealed that the challenges were nearly-impossible on purpose. Kirk Fogg, the host of the game show, in an interview with Great Big Story revealed, "The producers were only allowed to give out eight championships a year, so there was a budget and that's the truth of that." It doesn't appear that Nickelodeon ever addressed the controversies of the series, however, given that the one-season 2021 reboot had adults attempting the Temple Run, rather than kids, perhaps someone at the network was paying attention. 

In "Quiet on Set: The Dark Side of Kids TV," details of pedophilia and sexual assault came forward involving Jason Handy, a former Nickelodeon production assistant. Handy, who was part of hit Nickelodeon shows like "Cousin Skeeter" and "The Amanda Show," had a history of exchanging sexually explicit e-mails with young actors and even performing lewd acts.

While none of the direct victims spoke in the docuseries, one victim's mother (identified as "MJ") did share the story of her daughter, "Brandi." According to MJ, Handy had sent an e-mail with an explicit photo attached to her young daughter, prompting the mother to remove her from the entertainment industry altogether. "It was a picture of him naked masturbating," she explained in the docuseries (via Business Insider). "He said he had sent it to her because he wanted her to see that he was thinking of her."

Handy was arrested and eventually convicted of both distributing explicit material via email and performing lewd acts on a child in 2003, with police reportedly discovering child sexual abuse material on his computer. He was released after six years in prison and became a registered sex offender. He was arrested once more in 2014 on similar charges in North Carolina.

Many Nickelodeon stars have spoken out about both the revelations from the "Quiet on Set: The Dark Side of Kids TV" documentary, as well as their own experiences during that time period. One of Nick's biggest success stories is comedian Kenan Thompson, who went on to become the longest-running cast member on "Saturday Night Live." "It's tough for me because I can't really speak on things that I never witnessed," Thompson shared on "The Tamron Hall Show." "Because all of these things happened after I left ... I wasn't really aware of a lot of it, but my heart goes out to anybody that's been victimized [and] their families."

Josh Peck — of no relation to convicted abuser/former Nickelodeon staffer Brian Peck — of "Drake & Josh" also released a statement on Instagram following the docuseries, in which he did not participate. "I finished the 'Quiet On Set' documentary and took a few days to process it," he wrote. "I reached out to Drake [Bell], privately, but want to give my support for the survivors who were brave enough to share their stories of emotional and physical abuse."

Although he did not appear in the tell-all documentary, former "Zoey 101" actor Matthew Underwood revealed his own story of sexual assault during his youth in an emotional Instagram post. In the statement, Underwood described two experiences with assault that eventually led him to move away from acting for a period: "My trust was betrayed and my self-image crushed."

If you or anyone you know may be the victim of child abuse, has been a victim of sexual assault, is dealing with domestic abuse, or needs help with addiction issues, contact the relevant resources below:

• Contact the Childhelp National Child Abuse Hotline at 1-800-4-A-Child (1-800-422-4453) or contact their live chat services.
• Visit the Rape, Abuse & Incest National Network website or contact RAINN's National Helpline at 1-800-656-HOPE (4673).
• Call the National Domestic Violence Hotline at 1−800−799−7233. You can also find more information, resources, and support at their website.
• Visit the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration website or contact SAMHSA's National Helpline at 1-800-662-HELP (4357).