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Jennette McCurdy Is Alleging a Culture of Abuse on ‘iCarly’ and ‘Sam and Cat’

Jennette McCurdy Is Alleging a Culture of Abuse on ‘iCarly’ and ‘Sam and Cat’

Jennette McCurdy was one of Nickelodeon’s biggest celebrities when she was a kid, starring in staples like iCarly and Sam and Cat. But though she was living the Nickelodeon teen dream, she is now alleging a horrific time on the set of the shows, which were written and produced by Dan Schneider.

In a her new memoir book, I’m Glad My Mother’s Dead, McCurdy details abusive behavior by someone she only calls “The Creator,” who she says was “mean-spirited, controlling and terrifying” and could make “grown men and women cry with his insults and degradation.” She recalls being with “the Creator” while “being photographed in a bikini at a wardrobe fitting and being encouraged to drink alcohol.” She says her late mother was present for many of these interactions, but declined to intervene and dismissed her daughter’s concerns. As you may infer from the memoir’s title, this was not the first time McCurdy’s mother ignored her daughter’s well-being.

“It’s important to talk about,” she told the Washington Post in an interview. “It was so commonplace, his behavior, and it was so accepted because everyone was scared of losing their job. I don’t blame any of them. I get it. But it was really unfortunate; everything that happened in a children’s television series environment. It really seems like there’s not much of a moral compass there.”

Moreover, McCurdy alleges that she was offered $300,000 after Sam and Cat’s cancelation as a “thank-you gift,” if she promised to never tell anyone about her time on set and her experiences with the Creator. McCurdy said the payment seemed like “hush money” and she refused it.

In 2021, Schneider denied allegations of misconduct to the New York Times, saying that “I couldn’t, and I wouldn’t have the long-term friendships and continued loyalty from so many reputable people if I’d mistreated my actors of any age, especially minors.”

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