Actress Jennette McCurdy, who played the role of sarcastic, abrasive Sam Puckett on the hit 2007 sitcom iCarly, released her memoir I’m Glad My Mom Died about a month ago. This memoir accounts her years on Nickelodeon as an actress, and the endless manipulation and abuse she faced during that time. 

Although some might find the title off-putting or insensitive, which McCurdy recognizes, she believes that the morbid title fits her story. In an article by The New York Times, the actress states that she thinks the title of her book is perfect, as the amount of trauma and anger she went through is almost laughable to her. McCurdy spent years on iCarly, and since its end in 2012, she faces challenges with physical and mental health constantly due to the torment she was put through by her mother and the show’s creator, Dan Schneider.

McCurdy’s mother, Debra McCurdy, pushed her into acting as a way to provide for her family. The actress was merely fifteen years old when she first starred on iCarly, and was on it until its end in 2012, at the age of twenty. The pressure McCurdy’s mother placed on her caused an immense amount of responsibility for a child as she took on the role of the breadwinner of her family. 

Her mother watched her every move, giving Jennette showers and feeding her small-portioned meals. This treatment led McCurdy to develop eating disorders, as well as extreme anxiety and obsessive compulsive disorder. As the actress’s mother had previously beaten breast cancer when Jennette was young, she felt as though she owed her mother the respect and loyalty of providing for her. McCurdy had a torn and abusive relationship with her mother until she died in 2013, while Jennette had been starring in another Nickelodeon show, Sam & Cat.

Unfortunately, the abuse did not end after the death of her mother, as McCurdy was mistreated by the creator of her infamous TV shows, Dan Schneider. In her memoir, McCurdy writes about what someone by the name of “the Creator” forced her to do on set, such as pose for photos in a bikini, or drink alcohol, both while being underage. She does not explicitly state that the character known as “the Creator” is Dan Schneider, but as Schneider created the TV shows she starred in, and has previously been accused of abuse by other staff members at Nickelodeon, it is obvious as to who “the Creator” really is. 

Recently, more employees, especially women, of Nickelodeon have come forward stating that Schneider was extremely sexist on set, as well as being an overall awful person to work with. Multiple employees stated that he told them that he did not like having female writers, and that they were not funny. Schneider was known to sexualize the teenage actresses on set of the aforementioned shows, as well as other shows he created, such as Victorious, which was aired around the same time as iCarly.

I have yet to read Jennette McCurdy’s memoir, I’m Glad My Mom Died, as it has been constantly unavailable at the public library. As many were kept from telling the truth about Dan Schneider and Nickelodeon, people want to know what really happened on set, which is revealed in McCurdy’s memoir. Once I am able to get my hands on her memoir, my next article will be more in depth on the abuse McCurdy faced from those surrounding her, her experience as a child actress, how that affected her long-term, as well as what her costars faced.