Cat’s out of the bag?
Jennette McCurdy is opening up about her life like never before in her upcoming memoir I’m Glad My Mom Died, so it’s no surprise we’re finally getting some Sam & Cat tea!
As you may know, there was a lot of reported drama surrounding the spinoff of Victorious and iCarly, on which the former actress — who has since left Hollywood entirely — starred opposite soon-to-be music superstar Ariana Grande. The production was put on hiatus in April 2014, one month after McCurdy decided to skip out on the Kids’ Choice Awards amid reports her co-star was receiving a much higher salary than her.
Well, in her book, the 30-year-old claimed it was far worse — and she was, in fact, treated differently by Nickelodeon compared to her co-star. She’s finally ready to reveal went the moment she “broke” while filming the series.
The California native doesn’t holding back about her childhood on set in the book. And she has good reason. As she told The New York Times on Thursday:
“My whole childhood and adolescence were very exploited. There were cases where people had the best intentions and maybe didn’t know what they were doing. And also cases where they did — they knew exactly what they were doing.”
One specific incident addressed in the book, per the Times, is being “photographed in a bikini at a wardrobe fitting and being encouraged to drink alcohol by an intimidating figure she simply calls the Creator.”
BTW, Sam & Cat‘s creator is none other than Dan Schneider, the prolific creator of Victorious, All That, iCarly, and many more hits. While no accusations were ever made public, Nickelodeon parted ways rather abruptly with the cash cow creator in 2018 amid rumors of bad behavior backstage — including sharing photos of his young female stars’ feet. Inneresting that Jennette chose not to name the “Creator” she was talking about — because she doesn’t mince words elsewhere!
In an excerpt from the outlet, she complained about the double standard she faced with Ariana, claiming the kids’ network prevented her from pursuing other career opportunities during her time on the sitcom. However, that rule didn’t apply to the budding pop star, who of course pursued her music career while the show was on the air from 2013 to 2014, even releasing her debut album Yours Truly in August 2013.
Ariana’s rise to fame was meteoric, and the life that came with it was apparently a bit too much for Jennette to handle. She explained:
“What finally undid me was when Ariana came whistle-toning in with excitement because she had spent the previous evening playing charades at Tom Hanks’s house. That was the moment I broke.”
OMG, that sounds like a scene straight out of Jennette’s shady web series, What’s Next for Sarah?, which featured a braggadocious, high ponytail-wearing character named Gloriana. Bragging about hanging with Hollywood nice guy Tom Hanks just sounds like a total punchline!
The author went on to share that she turned down a $300,000 offer to abstain from publicly discussing her time at Nickelodeon after the show was canceled, and she hasn’t been afraid to speak candidly about her experiences ever since.
During a June 2021 episode of her podcast Empty Inside, the child star lamented about how frustrating it was at times to work with the superstar, sharing:
“We started the show and her explosion to Ariana Grande fame happened during our first 20 episodes. She would have to miss work because she was pulled in all directions. She’s gotta do the radio shows, she’s gotta do Billboard Awards, the Grammys. She’s performing at the Grammys and I’m, like, acting on this show with a box because they decided for that week her character had to be trapped in a box so she can go perform at the Grammys.”
In March 2021, the podcaster opened up about choosing to move on from acting — a decision she made following the death of her stage mom, Debra McCurdy.
But elsewhere in her book, the Nickelodeon alum confessed that she wasn’t ruling out coming back to the industry. She wrote:
“I have people around me now that are so supportive and so loving. It makes me tearful with joy. I feel so safe. I feel so much trust and so much openness.”
For more juicy stories, pick up a copy of I’m Glad My Mom Died, which hits shelves on August 9.
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