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Jennette McCurdy, Nickelodeon’s teen TV star in series such as iCarly and Sam & Cat, has just published a memoir titled I’m Glad My Mom Died, where she talks about her upbringing and what she experienced at the children’s channel. After its publication, rumors of shady allegations of possible child abuse that may have been going on at Nickelodeon have once again gained momentum.
Screenshot from the Twitter account of Jennette McCurdy.
Jennette reveals that Nickelodeon allegedly offered her $300,000 to keep her quiet about the alleged abuse she suffered during her time at the network. According to a man she refers to as “The Creator,” was the primary perpetrator of emotional abuse against her, sexualizing her and offering her alcohol while she was still a minor.
These shady behaviors allegedly came from one of the men at the head of the foot logo company. More and more people claim that The Creator would be Dan Schneider, the showrunner of Nickelodeon’s most successful shows, who left the network in 2018.
From the mind of Dan Schneider emerged some of the most popular teen series on Nickelodeon and all of television, such as The Amanda Show, Zoey 101, iCarly, Sam & Cat or Henry Danger; and many of its protagonists ended up achieving fame and success, such as Ariana Grande.
However, he concealed a challenging working environment for his subordinates behind his outstanding achievements. Not only because of an excessive level of demands but he was also accused of verbally and psychologically abusing his workers, many of them minors. Following an internal company investigation, these accusations may have been the real reason for his departure in 2018.
Jennette McCurdy’s book has only fueled suspicions —which always surrounded Dan Schneider— that there could also be something worse beyond his alleged lousy temper.
According to other accounts such as McCurdy’s, Dan was very fond of approaching young people, camcorder in hand, to record videos of behind-the-scenes moments, asking odd questions or scaring them. In these recordings, you can see the kids uncomfortable, not only because of the situation but also for not knowing the use he would later make of those videos.
But, without a doubt, the most striking gossip about Dan Schneider is his alleged fascination with feet. It is rumored that he asked children to take off their shoes in some castings and that he gave “shoe-less parties” after filming.
However, what is public and notorious is that in virtually all of his series, there were bizarre scenes with the actors showing their bare feet in close-up, sometimes smearing them with ketchup, biting each other, or sucking themselves.
It really can’t be stated enough that Dan Schneider and Nickelodeon were legit putting out foot fetish pornography starring children: https://t.co/oBclMwPRTl pic.twitter.com/jQKXZpW5rE
— Blake Dobyns (@BlakeDobyns) August 5, 2022
In 2013, the official Twitter account of the Sam & Cat series started a viral campaign encouraging fans to take pictures of their feet with messages written on them and share them. Some say it’s no coincidence that Nickelodeon’s logo was that of a foot, which could be related to this strange fixation.
SAM & CAT TOMORROW! Write on the bottom of ur foot, take a pic and use #SAMandCATSaturday we'll RT and follow until our fingers get sore!
— Sam and Cat (@SamAndCat) September 13, 2013
Aside from these rumors and innuendos, people from Nickelodeon’s orbit have been convicted in cases involving minors. In 2021, Drake Bell —star of Drake & Josh— was sentenced to two years probation for disseminating material harmful to children and was registered as a sex offender.
Actor Brian Peck, born in 1960 and a regular on Nickelodeon shows, is also on the sex offender registry after he was convicted in 2004 of a lewd act with a child and oral copulation with a person under the age of 16.
Ezel Channel, a Nickelodeon animator, was sentenced in 2009 to seven years and four months in prison for lewd acts against a 14-year-old minor who showed pornographic material. Marty Weiss, Nickelodeon’s representative for young actors, was sentenced to prison in 2012 for child molestation.
Jason Michael Handy, a production assistant at Nickelodeon, has also been convicted for similar reasons. Another Nickelodeon freelance contributor was sentenced to 5 years probation and registered as a sex offender after being caught by MSNBC’s To Catch a Predator.
Nickelodeon and the woke double standard
Despite the accumulation of cases —and not just at Nickelodeon—pedophilia in the entertainment world remains the elephant in the room that no one dares to talk about. This law of silence could be due to the recent politicization of children’s sexuality.
The left seems to have been mortgaged to gender ideology to have the support of the most woke sectors, such as feminism, the LGBTQ+ lobby, etc. The problem is that the victimhood inherent in this ideology makes these movements behave in a Cainite way. After all, they fight for privileges and perks by playing the discrimination card. There comes a time when they inevitably become rivals for the spoils.
Thus, feminism is being trampled by the transgender movement, especially in women’s sports.
Similarly, the issue of sexual abuse is dealt with differently depending on whether it is approached from feminism and the sexual abuse of women —read the MeToo movement— or whether it is approached from positions that hold that “love is love” regardless of other factors. This, following its own, has caused the MAP movement for the normalization of pedophilia within the most woke wing of the queer collective to begin to gain momentum.
🚨 Licensed counselor and sex therapist advocates for “MAPs” (minor attracted persons). She says they are “vilified” and “marginalized” and shouldn’t be referred to as pedophiles pic.twitter.com/Fu5PVF7uwY
— Libs of TikTok (@libsoftiktok) August 10, 2022
The ideological seams of the left are bursting and have entered into a dangerous game in which they cannot please all the groups they claim to defend, having to juggle to justify their positions on certain issues.
Thus, by sheer inertia, when it comes to possible sexual abuse of minors, if it comes to the Catholic Church, the leftist press can make all kinds of sweeping generalizations, blaming everyone from altar boys to the pope; and the progressive entertainment world can create as many admonitory films as it pleases.
However, when signs of alleged child abuse point to the entertainment world or are associated with the LGBTQ+ lobby, they downplay them and make calls for caution so as not to generalize and fall into homophobia, and those who dare to raise their voice to denounce it are immediately rushed by the progressive press to label them as far-right conspiracy theorists.
This is perhaps because as the left mistakes progressivism for anything that goes against traditional values, it has not only led them to flirt with these ideas, but lately, they’ve taken to openly supporting things like drag shows for minors or sex changes for children.
Just as Nickelodeon tried to buy Jennette McCurdy’s silence, it seems that metaphorically the left is paying a high price for the blank checks it has signed with the woke ideology.
Ignacio Manuel García Medina, Business Management teacher. Artist and lecturer specialized in Popular Culture for various platforms. Presenter of the program "Pop Libertario" for the Juan de Mariana Institute. Lives in the Canary Islands, Spain // Ignacio M. García Medina es profesor de Gestión de Empresas. Es miembro del Instituto Juan de Mariana y conferenciante especializado en Cultura Popular e ideas de la Libertad.
Social Networks: @ignaciomgm