Sexual Abuse & Exploitation THE DARK SIDE OF KIDS' TV

NICKELODEON SHOWS LOOKED LIKE FUN. FOR CHILD ACTORS, THEY WERE HARD WORK OR WORSE

- JOHNNY DODD and NICOLE ACOSTA

When Giovonnie Samuels landed a role on the children's comedy show All That in 2002, it felt like a dream come true for the then-16-year-old actress. But she says her experiences on-set-such as being the sole Black actress and the only cast member not given a hairstylist or being trained to avoid choking during a sketch that required drinking enormous amounts of fake coffee and sugar and felt like "waterboarding"-often proved traumatizing. "You learn to walk that fine line," says Samuels, now 38, who describes herself as a Black "token" on the show. "You're always asking yourself, 'Do I speak up? And if I do speak up, will I lose my job? Or do I just let it go?""