Jennette McCurdy Reveals She Was Offered $300K In Hush Money From Nickelodeon
If you grew up watching Nickelodeon in the early 2000s, then you probably know the name Jennette McCurdy all too well. She was one of the stars of the hit show “iCarly,” in which she played Carly’s goofy and rambunctious best friend named Sam Puckett, who then went on to star in a short-lived spin-off called “Sam & Cat.”
Jennette is now gaining notoriety for her recently released, popular memoir entitled I’m Glad My Mom Died, which reveals the physical, emotional, and even sexual abuse that she, like so many child actors, has suffered from. The traumatic abuse was inflicted by her own mother and someone very high up at Nickelodeon, whom she refers to as “the creator” throughout the book.
Jennette McCurdy Reveals the Trauma She Has Endured
Jennette recounts being 15 years old and forced by “the creator” to wear a bikini on the set of iCarly, despite her pleas to wear a one-piece. She had battled anorexia since the age of 11 and had struggled with her physical appearance both on and off camera ever since. She also talked about the role that her mother played in her eating disorder as she forced Jennette to calorie count and try to stay as thin and petite as possible so she would look young and childish longer in order to continue getting roles as a child actor. Jennette believes that another reason that her mother encouraged her anorexia was as a method to keep her under her influence since it would be more difficult to control her as she grew older.
Another headline maker that has come out from the book was when Jennette recounted an instance where “the creator” pressured her to drink alcohol when she was 18 years old due to the kids on her show being “too wholesome” and in need of some “edge,” and this same man gave her an inappropriate shoulder massage. This man was allegedly Dan Schneider.
Dan created and produced some of the biggest hits at Nickelodeon for 30 years, such as iCarly, The Amanda Show, Zoey 101, and Victorious. He was even the recipient of Nickelodeon’s only Lifetime Achievement award for his work there. Nickelodeon and Dan Schneider parted ways in 2018 amid reports that he was verbally and potentially sexually abusive to staff and cast members, as Jennette and other Nickelodeon stars have alleged over the years, although publicly both parties claim that their contract had merely ended.
Prior to Dan's departure, when Jennette learned that Sam & Cat was being canceled, Nickelodeon offered her a $300,000 “thank you gift” to never speak about her experience publicly, specifically regarding “the creator.” In a recent interview with ABC News, Jennette reflects on how proud she was of herself for not accepting the money at the time, which she claims may have come from a self-righteous place, but ultimately she knew it was the right thing to do.
Jennette describes her chaotic childhood in which her mother was both physically and mentally abusive.
Jennette’s memoir goes on to recount the dark and disturbing reality that so many child stars have admitted to living out as they begin rising to stardom and making so much money that they end up becoming the breadwinners of their families, forced to bear the financial burden of supporting not only themselves but their families, and in some cases even friends. Jennette describes her chaotic childhood and upbringing in which her mother was both physically and mentally abusive and put a tremendous amount of pressure on her and her career in order to pull her family out of the low-income lifestyle they once lived. In addition to this stress, her mother battled cancer on and off throughout her whole life, which caused her and her siblings to not only live in constant fear of their mother, but constant fear of losing her as well.
In a more disturbing recount of her childhood trauma, Jennette describes her mother’s inappropriate bathing and touching that went on until she was 17. Her mother referred to these egregious acts as “medical exams,” but Jennette believes that, similar to her anorexia, it was another control method.
Closing Thoughts
“I’m Glad My Mom Died” has already become a tremendously popular success, having sold out on Amazon, Target, Walmart, and Barnes & Noble. The book placed #4 on Amazon’s Best Seller Chart and will likely end up being a New York Times best seller. Jennette believes that writing the book was not only cathartic but essential to help her deal with a lifetime of trauma in a positive way.
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