Zoey 101 star Alexa Nikolas says reboot is ‘damaging’ to survivors
Former child actor has previously said she didn’t feel ‘protected’ at channel
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Former Nickelodeon star Alexa Nikolas has hit out at plans to reboot Zoey 101, claiming it sends a “damaging” message to survivors.
Nikolas, 30, appeared opposite Jamie Lynn Spears in the first two seasons of the kids’ TV show, which aired from 2005 to 2008.
In recent years, the actor has claimed that she “didn’t feel safe” or “protected” at Nickelodeon, even staging a protest at the network’s headquarters last summer.
Earlier in January, it was announced that Zoey 101 is to return for a sequel film – titled Zoey 102 – starring Spears and several other former cast members.
In response, Nikolas protested outside Nickelodeon HQ again on Friday (20 January), telling TMZ that she didn’t believe the film should be made.
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“It’s damaging to any survivor that wants to come forward,” she said. “We want to make sure as a society that we are encouraging survivors to come forward and that we’re not discouraging them.
“What’s more harmful about it is that future children or adults out there that are wanting to come forward, but are scared about if they’re going to be supported, the entertainment industry is showing the world that we don’t even support the survivors in this mainstream environment.”
She questioned: “What is that saying? What kind of message to send to survivors out there everywhere?”
At the first protest in August, Nikolas held a poster calling Dan Schneider, the creator of Zoey 101, “the creator of childhood trauma”.
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“I didn’t feel protected at Nickelodeon as a child,” she commented. “I didn’t feel safe around Dan Schneider; every time he came on set my body got extremely tense.”
Protestors chanted “protect survivors, not predators,” and demanded the release of other survivors who can’t speak up due to NDAs.
The Independent has contacted Nickelodeon and Schneider’s representatives for comment.
In October, Nikolas spoke about her experiences on the show on multiple podcasts, claiming that she was bullied on the set of Zoey 101.
After Nikolas alleged that Britney Spears once yelled at her on set on behalf of her little sister Jamie Lynn, the singer issued an apology to her.
In recent years, Nikolas has founded a movement called Eat Predators, which seeks to call out alleged predators and networks.