Victoria Justice not returning to ‘Zoey 101’ reboot

Victoria Justice says she won’t be returning as Lola Martinez to the upcoming reboot of the popular Nickelodeon series, ‘Zoey 101.’ The singer and actress cited the issue of timing not working out for her.

The news comes from a recent interview Justice did with Variety. She goes on to say that she has been in touch with her previous cast members and they were supportive and understanding of her decision.

“Ultimately, I would love to be there with them. I loved doing that show. It was such a pivotal point in my life, and I had so much fun making it. I love that cast; we had such a great time, and I just have so much love for them.”

Focusing on Music

In the same interview, she goes on to explain how she’s focusing more on music currently rather than acting. “I feel really grateful. I feel really content in the place that I am in life right now, and I’m hopeful and excited for the future,”

“I’m really looking forward to releasing the new music that I’ve been working on. And I hope that people love it and resonate with it. And I just want to express like all the gratitude that I have for my fans and the people who have been supporting me for, well, I don’t know, like two decades,” Justice explains.

Justice recently released a single after teasing new music for a year, ‘Last Man Standing.’ The song came out on the singer’s 30th birthday on February 19.

Who else won’t be rejoining the Zoey 101 cast?

Along with Victoria Justice, Alexa Nikolas, who played Nicole Bristow will not be joining the reboot. According to TMZ, the star expressed her discontent with the show and cast, claiming that they were supporting a network that contributed to her childhood trauma.

Nikolas had also joined protests outside of Nickelodeon headquarters in Burbank, California, to protest the upcoming reboot. For years prior, she has also been very vocal about the alleged abuse she suffered during her time at Nickelodeon as a child actor.

Paul Butcher, who played Zoey’s younger brother Dustin also opted to not rejoin the cast. He announced his decision with a TikTok, implying with the caption that the reboot is a little too late.

As well, According to MovieWeb both Kristin Herrera and Austin Butler opted to not return to their characters in the reboot movie. Austin Butler also recently claimed in a Variety Award Circuit podcast, that no one asked him about a cameo for the film.

“I’m so grateful for all those stepping stones that I had throughout my career,” the ‘Elvis’ actor said.

“But now I’m just going after whatever story resonates with me or whatever director or actors I really wanna work with.”