from: By Tara Ariano / Yahoo! TV Blog
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Sanchez at a Nicklodeon event in May. Neilson Barnard/WireImage |
For most parents, Nickelodeon's "Dora the Explorer" is the innocent story of an inquisitive little girl who navigates the world with the canny use of a talking backpack, a talking map, and a monkey. (The monkey also talks.) But would parents be so quick to park their toddlers in front of the show if they knew they were exposing their kids to the fruits of what may be unfair labor practices?
The New York Daily News reports that the show's star — 14-year-old Caitlin Sanchez, the voice of Dora — has brought a lawsuit against Nickelodeon, claiming that she has been cheated out of potential income from the show. According to Sanchez's lawyer, John Balestriere, the contract Sanchez was (allegedly) pressured to sign — not just by representatives of Nickelodeon but by her own agent — was "convoluted and inscrutable," and cheats her out of "millions, possibly tens of millions" of profits he feels she is entitled to.
Though one's response to the story may be that if Sanchez didn't understand what she was signing, she should have sought counsel at the time, the dollar amounts reported are actually pretty shocking. Sanchez was paid $5,115 per episode (but was not compensated for the "hundreds of hours" it took to record them), and promoted the show by traveling to personal appearances around the country, for which she was paid a "meager travel stipend of $40 a day."
By contrast, the AP reported that, by Nickelodeon's own estimation, the "Dora" brand has generated $11 billion in sales worldwide.
The suit also claims that Sanchez was threatened with the loss of the role if she didn't sign her contract as is — which, under the circumstances, might have been especially alarming. Also, Sanchez is not the first actress to voice Dora: Kathleen Herles originated the role, but left the show in 2008. In an interview with the voice-actor blog, Voices.com, Herles says she retired as Dora upon her graduation from high school, saying it had been a challenge to maintain her "7-year-old voice."
Michael Fricklas, general counsel to Viacom (Nickelodeon's parent company), calls the suit "completely without merit," but if it does make it to a courtroom, and if the contract is as restrictive as Sanchez's lawyers claim, he'll need to explain the apparent gap between the revenue the show generates versus the compensation it has offered its star.
The New York Daily News reports that the show's star — 14-year-old Caitlin Sanchez, the voice of Dora — has brought a lawsuit against Nickelodeon, claiming that she has been cheated out of potential income from the show. According to Sanchez's lawyer, John Balestriere, the contract Sanchez was (allegedly) pressured to sign — not just by representatives of Nickelodeon but by her own agent — was "convoluted and inscrutable," and cheats her out of "millions, possibly tens of millions" of profits he feels she is entitled to.
Though one's response to the story may be that if Sanchez didn't understand what she was signing, she should have sought counsel at the time, the dollar amounts reported are actually pretty shocking. Sanchez was paid $5,115 per episode (but was not compensated for the "hundreds of hours" it took to record them), and promoted the show by traveling to personal appearances around the country, for which she was paid a "meager travel stipend of $40 a day."
By contrast, the AP reported that, by Nickelodeon's own estimation, the "Dora" brand has generated $11 billion in sales worldwide.
The suit also claims that Sanchez was threatened with the loss of the role if she didn't sign her contract as is — which, under the circumstances, might have been especially alarming. Also, Sanchez is not the first actress to voice Dora: Kathleen Herles originated the role, but left the show in 2008. In an interview with the voice-actor blog, Voices.com, Herles says she retired as Dora upon her graduation from high school, saying it had been a challenge to maintain her "7-year-old voice."
Michael Fricklas, general counsel to Viacom (Nickelodeon's parent company), calls the suit "completely without merit," but if it does make it to a courtroom, and if the contract is as restrictive as Sanchez's lawyers claim, he'll need to explain the apparent gap between the revenue the show generates versus the compensation it has offered its star.
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