Nickelodeon accused of sexualizing Ariana Grande when she was child star

Nickelodeon has been accused of sexualising Ariana Grande when she was a child star.

Grande, now aged 30, started out her career as a teenager, rising to fame as Cat Valentine in the Nickelodeon series Victorious.

The singer went on to become one of the biggest stars in music, but a resurfaced compilation of clips from the show went viral, with Nickelodeon accused of 'sexualising' and 'infantilising' the star.

In the scenes - which were recorded when she was just 16 - Grande can be seen talking about her uvula (a teardrop-shaped bit of soft tissue hanging from the roof of your mouth) getting stuck between a hamster's toes, before putting her finger in the back of her throat.

She can also be seen talking about being 'soaking wet', as well as putting her toes in her mouth.

Another scene shows her lying on her back and pouring water on her chest.

Nickelodeon

The clips went viral on Twitter, with the compilation viewed million of times.

One person wrote: "This is absolutely disgusting. As an adult watching this right now you can tell EXACTLY what they were doing.

"I hope she speaks on it, people will definitely support her. But understand exactly why she doesn't given how they treat people who do."

Another said: "This always makes me nauseous, imagine 'directing' a teenager to do that stuff as a grown man."

A third added: "When she stuck her finger in her mouth... She looked physically uncomfortable, and the feet thing... Just... Wow, disgusting."

UNILAD has contacted Nickelodeon for comment.

Nickelodeon

Jennette McCurdy, who starred alongside Grande in Nickelodeon sitcom Sam & Cat, recently revealed that she was often 'jealous' of how the singer was treated.

McCurdy, 30, has written a memoir in which she details her time working at Nickelodeon and claims she had to turn down other work while working on iCarly, while Grande was permitted to skip Sam & Cat filming so she could attend other shoots and events.

The memoir, titled I'm Glad My Mom Died, documents her early life and career, including painful details about being under the constant control of her mother Debra McCurdy.

Elsewhere in the book, McCurdy claims: "The week where I was told Ariana would not be here at all, and that they would write around her absence this episode by having her character be locked in a box. Are you kidding me?

"So I have to turn down movies while Ariana’s off whistle-toning at the Billboard Music Awards? F**k. This."

Topics: US News, Celebrity, Ariana Grande, Music, Entertainment, Film and TV

Jake Massey

Jake Massey is a journalist at LADbible. He graduated from Newcastle University, where he learnt a bit about media and a lot about living without heating. After spending a few years in Australia and New Zealand, Jake secured a role at an obscure radio station in Norwich, inadvertently becoming a real-life Alan Partridge in the process. From there, Jake became a reporter at the Eastern Daily Press. Jake enjoys playing football, listening to music and writing about himself in the third person.

@jakesmassey