‘iCarly’ Star Jennette McCurdy Says She Was Jealous Of Ariana Grande In New Memoir

Jennette McCurdy has been promoting her new memoir which has prompted debate just over its title. Her book I’m Glad My Mom’s Dead was published recently and showed the former child actress opening up about the dark aspects of her prior career.

McCurdy admitted in one chapter that she harbored resentment for her co-star on the iCarly and Victorious spinoff, Ariana Grande. McCurdy performed with Grande on Sam & Cat for one season and claimed that she constantly had to “angrily hold down the fort” while Grande was allowed frequent breaks to tour and promote her music career.

“I have to turn down movies while Ariana’s off whistle-toning at the Billboard Music Awards? F**k this!” She also contrasted Grande’s wealthy upbringing in Boca Raton with her childhood “in a godd**ned hoarder house with a cancerous mom who constantly wept about not being able to afford rent and utility bills.”

She also noted that she went into Sam & Cat thinking she was going to be the sole star of her own Nickelodeon series with her character Sam Puckett, who was many fans’ favorite part of iCarly in the first place.

“This was supposed to be Just Puckett, the harrowing tale of a brassy juvenile delinquent-turned-school counselor. Now it’s some half-baked two-hander,” McCurdy wrote.

McCurdy wasn’t just spotlighting co-star drama in this book, however. She also wrote at length about how she was mistreated on the set of both iCarly and Sam & Cat by show producers and especially showrunner Dan Schneider, who she just referred to as “The Creator.”

She said she felt sexualized while working as an underaged Nickelodeon star. McCurdy alleged Schneider insisted she wear a bikini instead of a one-piece swimsuit for a swimming scene, and said that he took photos of her in the bikini as well. She also claimed he pressured her to drink alcohol at the age of 18.

Her memoir even mentioned the bombshell detail that the channel itself offered her $300,000 in what she referred to as a “hush money” payment to stop her from speaking up about her experience.

Here’s an interview clip where McCurdy discusses feeling conflicted about rejecting the payment, but concluding “I’ve chosen a path of integrity, and it hasn’t always been easy.”