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In the latest episode of the "Podcrushed" podcast, pop star and former Nickelodeon actress Ariana Grande opens up about her experience as a child star on the show "Victorious." Co-hosted by Penn Badgley, who starred in Grande’s “The Boy Is Mine” music video, the podcast delves into Grande's reflections on her rise to fame and the challenges she faced during her early career.
Grande, now a Grammy-winning artist, was just 14 years old when she auditioned for and landed a role on "Victorious," a Nickelodeon show that aired from 2010 to 2013. The series was a major stepping stone in her career, leading to a spin-off, "Sam & Cat," where she continued her role as Cat Valentine. Recalling her audition, Grande shared, “I flew out to audition with Liz Gillies, and we were all very excited when we got cast. It was the best news we could hear. We were young performers who just wanted to do this with our lives more than anything.”
While Grande cherishes many memories from her time on "Victorious," she admits she is currently "reprocessing [my] relationship to it." Reflecting on the experience, she acknowledges the mixed emotions that come with revisiting that period in her life.
Grande’s comments come in the wake of the recent Investigation Discovery documentary "Quiet on Set," which highlights allegations of misconduct against Dan Schneider, the creator of "Victorious" and other Nickelodeon shows. While neither Grande nor her co-stars appeared in the documentary, it has spurred her to reconsider her past. She described her feelings upon watching old clips from "Victorious": “Looking back on some of the clips, I’m like, ‘Damn, really? Oh s—.’ It was all so quick, and some of the humor and innuendos… now I look back and think, ‘Wow, that was pushed through.’”
Despite her gratitude for the opportunities the show provided, Grande expressed discomfort with some of the content and practices on set. “Specifically about our show, I think that was something that we were convinced was the cool thing about us — that we pushed the envelope with our humor,” she said. She also mentioned that some unapproved content was sneaked onto the show's website.
Grande is now advocating for better protections for young performers. She believes the environment for child actors needs significant improvements, including mandatory therapy and increased parental presence on sets. “I think the environment needs to be made safer if kids are going to be acting,” she emphasized. “There should be therapists, and parents should be allowed to be wherever they want to be. If anyone wants to do this or music or anything at this level of exposure, there should be something in the contract about therapy being mandatory twice a week.”
