Nickelodeon Issues Red Carpet Fatwa on Disney Stars Attending Kids' Choice Awards

Hey kids! Nickelodeon has a lesson to teach you, and it goes like this: If your friends are more popular than you, it's only fair to punish them. At least, that's the way Nickelodeon is handling tonight's Kids' Choice Awards, where Nick executives are trying to undercut the rival Disney Channel by keeping Disney stars out of the press line, the spotlight, and (potentially) the broadcast.

Says the LAT:

Actors who appear in Disney Channel shows nominated for best TV show, including the male lead of "Sonny With a Chance," Sterling Knight, and "Wizards of Waverly Place" gal-pal Jennifer Stone, will have to file through the doorway with the thousands of other ordinary guests attending the event. Some Disney Channel performers from these same shows have been excluded altogether.

By contrast, at least 25 from Nickelodeon's roster will get the full star treatment, including ensemble cast members from shows that didn't garner a nod, such as "The Troop" and "True Jackson, VP." [...]

That tension is reflected in which Disney Channel celebrities get valuable air time on the award show. In 2003, Hilary Duff's television show "Lizzie McGuire" won top TV honors -- but the award wasn't televised. The same thing happened to Dylan Sprouse last year, when he won favorite television actor for his role on "The Suite Life of Zack and Cody."

Childish behavior, you say? Well, at least they know their audience! Someone needs to arrange a coffee date with these hard-driving Nickelodeon execs and the punitive management over at Variety. I have a feeling they'd get along famously.

Is Nickelodeon going to give rival Disney the brush off at Kids' Choice Awards? [LAT]