Ariana Grande's silence over Nickelodeon docuseries sparks backlash

Los Angeles, California - Ariana Grande has been all over the news as she promotes her album eternal sunshine and the Wicked movie, but one place you won't see the pop star, however, is speaking out about the docuseries Quiet on Set: The Dark Side of Kids TV. Not yet, at least.

Ariana Grande's silence on the allegations of abuse and toxicity on the set of Nickelodeon shows she starred in has sparked a debate among fans.
Ariana Grande's silence on the allegations of abuse and toxicity on the set of Nickelodeon shows she starred in has sparked a debate among fans.  © Screenshot/Instagram@arianagrande

The documentary, which began streaming on Sunday, reveals allegations of abuse towards minors behind the scenes of the kids' network Nickelodeon Studios.

On Friday, hosts on The View debated whether or not Ari's "silence" about the docuseries makes her "complicit" in the toxic environment.

"I often tell people, if you're a true ally, if something is happening in a room, if you see it happening to me... a true ally says, at that moment, 'Don't do that, you shouldn't do that,'" said The View's Sunny Hostin.

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Sara Haines countered this, saying, "Just to clarify, these were kids when this all happened."

Ariana's name specifically came up later on in the heated group discussion as the hosts argued about whether she had a duty to speak out about her potentially traumatic childhood experiences at Nickelodeon.

"[Ariana Grande] is an adult now, so is silence complicity or not?" Hostin asked.

The 30-year-old appeared in Quiet on Set solely through clips of her scenes from shows on the network, which were criticized by those in the docuseries for their evident sexual innuedos despite Ariana being a minor at the time.

Disturbing clips of Ariana Grande's Nickelodeon roles go viral

Ariana Grande (l.) rose to fame on Nickelodeon, first starring in Victorious before moving onto Sam & Cat.
Ariana Grande (l.) rose to fame on Nickelodeon, first starring in Victorious before moving onto Sam & Cat.  © IMAGO / Everett Collection

The unsettling clips of a young Ariana Grande on Nickelodeon programs Victorious and Sam & Cat have recirculated online since the docuseries' debut.

This footage, which was produced and aired by Nickelodeon, shows an underage Ariana in scenes that commenters believe to be full of inappropriate sexual innuendos and even alleged fetish content.

Former Nickelodeon showrunner Dan Schneider has been a longtime topic of concern after numerous verbal abuse allegations against him from cast and crew members.

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Schneider was let go from the network in 2018 after an investigation by ViacomCBS.

Ariana hasn't publicly commented on the allegations against Dan and currently still follows him on social media.

Cover photo: Screenshot/Instagram@arianagrande

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