Following Jennette McCurdy releasing her book I’m Glad My Mom Died, which involved calling out unsafe conditions at Nickelodeon, Zoey 101 alum Alexa Nikolas protests the network for its lack of protection for her and other child actors. As a part of her Eat Predators movement, she advocates for improved working conditions for children.
Alexa Nikolas posted on her Instagram a 15-minute video of her outside of the Nickelodeon headquarters, which has over 130,000 views. She and others stand outside with various signs to pose questions and point out “Sickelodeon” for its alleged protection of predators and failings for child actors and other employees. She asked how many non-disclosure agreements have been signed to keep people quiet about any possible abuse or exploitation. She also asked, “how many predators?”
Ex-star of Zoey 101 Alexa Nikolas protests Nickelodeon and Dan Schneider
Holding a sign that read, “Nickelodeon didn’t protect me,” Alexa Nikolas called out Dan Schneider, the creator of many popular shows like iCarly and Drake & Josh in the early 00s. While he was never named by McCurdy, she only referenced him as “The Creator,” she has backed up what has been said about his abusive nature toward young stars. The former Zoey 101 actress outright calls him out with his name and face on a sign that has him slimed, the green ooze seen in Slime Time Live and other programs from the network.
“He is the creator of childhood trauma,” she said. “He played a huge role in my personal childhood trauma. I did not feel safe around Dan Schneider while I was working at Nickelodeon. Actually, every time he came on set, my body got extremely tense, and later on in season two, he yelled at me, made me cry in a room actually at Nickelodeon.”
Alexa Nikolas and the former iCarly star coming out about the company, and Dan Schneider comes four years after his exit in 2018 due to allegations about his treatment of staff and young actors. He has since denied the allegations when talking to The New York Times, he called what has been said about him “ridiculous” and that “the comedy was totally innocent.”