The 14 year old girl who is the voice of Dora The Explorer is suing Nickelodeon saying she has been cheated out of tens of millions of dollars. Caitlin Sanchez has been the voice for Dora since she was 12. At the time she signed up, Nickelodeon offered to pay her about $5000 an episode plus residuals and some compensation for merchandising.
The suit says that her parents were pressured to sign a 14 page contract and were only given 22 minutes to sign it, and were not allowed to see a lawyer. Although their agent is not named in the suit, it seems to me that he is the one who should be sued. The parents say that the agent kept telling them that unless they signed right that second, Nickelodeon would find a new Dora and that if she pushed too much they would also replace her.
Now, there seem to be about a million episodes of Dora so I'm sure Caitlin did get some money. She says in her suit that the contract was complicated and that she has been denied lots of the merchandising compensation she is owed and that she traveled the country promoting the show but only got $40 a day when she did.
For their part, Nickelodeon says the suit is without merit. The thing is it is tough to look good when you are the big bad corporate monster and the person suing you is a 14 year old girl.
Her agent and Nickelodeon are both to blame. If her allegations are true, Nickelodeon pulled a fast one. And her agent was too dumb and greedy to care.
ReplyDeleteBlame goes to the parents and agent for not reading the documentation. People need to READ EVERYTHING before signing anything.
ReplyDeleteYes, to what Lady J said and not being allowed to see a lawyer is BS. They should have discussed it with a lawyer ahead of time and brought one with them to the signing. The agent sounds shady too.
ReplyDeleteWhat...a child star...getting screwed over?
ReplyDeleteINCONCEIVABLE!!!
She's lucky Disney's not doing the screwing.
Although, it is pretty cool that she kinda looks like Dora.
she got robbed! My cousin is a big Dora fan and she has everything....from the pecil to the cute lunchbox, it's a lot of money.
ReplyDeleteThey will pay, if only to make this go away..
ReplyDeleteWhy would a lawyer not be permitted to view it? That seems odd. Her agent sounds awful.
ReplyDeleteI'm sure Nickelodeon has made bazillions of dollars off Dora.
is she entitled to all the residuals from merchandise? No.
ReplyDeleteonly ones that feature her voice and her contract should be amended to show that.
I disagree. I think she is entitled to residuals from merchandise. First of all, Nickelodeon offered it. End of story. But second of all, you don't think that actors who lend their voices to animated features don't get residuals? They do.
ReplyDeleteshes a beautiful girl, gorgeous skin and hair.
ReplyDeleteIf she's 14 now and been the voice since she was 12, then she'd not even the original Dora. The show has been on since 2000, so she isn't the one who established the Dora brand.
ReplyDeletePaisley, I was thinking the same thing. Dora has been around for ages. What did the previous Dora's get? I think her agent is the shady one. Seiously, I doubt the the legal dept at Nick would say she couldn't see an attorney knowing the risk involved in that act. I also question whether she should get a cut of the merchandise. It's not like the merchandise reflects her likeness. What does the voice of Sponge Bob get for merchandising?
ReplyDeleteI think her agent was right - if she hadn't signed the contract, they'd have found someone else. Nick should renegotiate her contract, but tens of millions of dollars? I don't think so.
ReplyDeleteAgree with Lady J.
ReplyDelete14 year old girl suing? No.
More like her parents.
@HannahPalindrome
ReplyDeleteA minor doesn't have standing to sue in a court of law. One of her parents would have been appointed to sue on her behalf. The lawsuit would be something like "Mrs. [Whatever] Sanchez as the guardian of the Estate of Caitlin Sanchez, Plaintiff ...."
My sister's bestfriend's daughter does one of the voices on Blue's Clues and she has been treated very well by Nickelodeon.
ReplyDeleteUnfortunately, if she/her legal guardians signed the contract, it's going to be tough. And I think tv residuals are where the real money is, anyway, or so I've read before I think -- and that's not in dispute here. (But I also think it's probably true that had she/her legal guardians not signed in a rush job the job indeed would immediately have gone to someone else. Problem is, it's impossible to prove. But I have a feeling it's true.)
ReplyDeleteshe has been the voice since 2007. prior to that, someone else played dora. enty didn't mention that nick claims she's being replaced because her voice changed and is now too old to play dora.
ReplyDeleteIf she wins the lawsuit is she going to break into song and sing "we did it, we did it, we did it hooray, oh yeah we did it".
ReplyDelete(sorry only people subjected to watching Dora will get that)
this is what happens when parents turn to stage-parents and don't have their children's best interests at mind. only their pockets.
ReplyDeletenot to mention, Rachael Ray did forty dollars a day first. Rachael should sue her. :P :P :P :P :P
personally, the moment they said they couldn't consult a lawyer or take the time to read the contract should have been enough of a red flag to pass on the deal. if you know going into it that you're getting screwed over, spare yourself the drama and walk away.
ReplyDeleteUgh, this is why kids shouldn't work.
ReplyDeleteNick has that stupid Dora pic on EVERYTHING, they've made a boatload.
Sorry, this chic's lawsuit sounds off to me - she did the voice for the show - she didn't create the character herself! She's not entitled to monies from merchandise! I doubt that Nancy Cartright (Bart Simpson) gets monies from ALL Bart merchandise - only the items where her voice appears. Of course she and the rest of the Simpsons voice talent are A list voice talent so maybe they're not the best example, but this chic is not in their league.
ReplyDeleteAnyway...she got well compensated for her work and if the stuff wasn't in the agreement she needs to talk to her legal counsel. And maybe not sign agreements she's not comfortable with. Nickelodeon isn't obligated to give her every red nickel, they've produced the show for 10 years, she's only been involved as voice talent for 3 years.
Nice try, though. Nickelodeon will settle to shuffle her off into obscurity and everyone will be happy.
Re compensation, I'm confused.
ReplyDeleteResiduals for toys/games/etc that use her voice, sure.
But I can't understand why she'd be paid residuals for a cartoon character that she didn't create.
It's not like it's her intellectual property, she didn't create it, she doesn't write for it, all she does is speak the lines she's handed. IMHO, she's being replaced due to pubescent changes in her voice, and her parents are behind this.
I do agree with E. DuBois on the end result. Viacom/Nickelodeon will settle,get parents to sign a non disclosure in exchange, and she'll then either become the next Blohan or be happy and attempt to have a normal life.
Oh who am I kidding. With parents like this? Blohan.
Dora, Simpsons, etc. are NOT comic strips---The voice actors' performances are integral to the characters and their success.
ReplyDeleteResiduals promises are put into contracts to encourage actors' stake in their performances, and to low-ball actual salaries in a lot of cases.
It's exactly the same as RDJ having residuals for Iron Man action figures.