Ariana Grande broke her silence following Investigation Discovery’s “Quiet on Set” docuseries, which detailed the toxic workplace and child sexualization allegations made against former Nickelodeon producer Dan Schneider and other employees.
The “Victorious” actress sat down for an interview on Penn Badgley’s “Podcrushed” podcast out Wednesday after the pair worked together on her “The Boy Is Mine” music video. During their discussion, her experience working in children’s television came up.
“I think it’s interesting because that way, speaking specifically about the show, was something that we were convinced was the cool thing about us. Like, that we push the envelope with our humor, the innuendos were like, we were told — convinced as well — that it was the cool differentiation,” Grande said. “I don’t know, I think it just all happened so quickly and now looking back on some of the clips, I’m like, ‘Damn, like, really? Oh s–t.’ It’s like, if I had a daughter.”
Grande starred on two of the network’s most popular shows, “Sam & Cat” and “Victorious.” The Grammy winner said that at the time, getting a giggle out of the creatives behind the scenes let young stars know they were doing their job well, even if they weren’t always aware of what could have been a sexually suggestive joke written into the script.
“There’s also a strange pattern that occurs where it’s really taken advantage of how much it means to the young performer to get a laugh from video village,” she explained. “You’re like, ‘Oh, s–t, I’m doing something great. This is funny. This is good.’”
The singer also seemed to confirm that she only just learned that unapproved content — including Grande getting liquid poured on her face — was put online.
“The things that weren’t approved for network were snuck onto our website or whatever. That is another discovery, but going into it, I guess I’m upset,” she shared. “I think toward the end, my mom was allowed to come to set when I was little … When we were younger, they were allowed to come to run-throughs sometimes or things like that occasionally. But yeah, towards the end, she was there a little more.”
Grande concluded her comments on the matter by saying that all rising stars should be required to undergo some form of mental health therapy.
“There should be an element that is mandatory of therapy of a professional person to unpack what this experience of your life changing so drastically does to you at a young age, at any age,” Grande said.
All five episodes of “Quiet On Set” are now available to stream on Max.
