Jennette McCurdy was a prominent star on the Nickelodeon network from 2007 to 2014. She made her television debut on the show iCarly as the best friend of the lead character, and later went on to star in Sam & Cat, a spinoff starring Ariana Grande.
The former child performer is now 30 years old, has given up acting, and has been speaking out about the dark experiences she went through during the height of her success, including her mother’s physical and emotional abuse and several eating disorders.
McCurdy expanded on her time at Nickelodeon in a recent interview with The Washington Post about her just-published memoir.
She speaks up about adult actors’ disturbing behavior on set and the alleged “hush money” she was promised in exchange for keeping her silence.
Jennette McCurdy’s Nickelodeon Journey & Beef With Ariana Grande
When McCurdy was 15 years old, she debuted as Sam Puckett in the Nickelodeon TV series iCarly in 2007, and she remained in the show until its conclusion in 2012.
For her work on iCarly and her portrayal as Dory Sorenson in the TV movie The Last Day of Summer, she was nominated for a Young Artist Award in 2008.
For her work on iCarly, she received a 2009 Teen Choice Award nomination in the category of Favorite TV Sidekick. She stayed on the program until 2012, and from 2013 to 2014, she served as the show’s executive producer
In the Nickelodeon series Sam & Cat, McCurdy and Ariana Grande co-starred. McCurdy played Sam Puckett, and Grande played Cat Valentine. The storyline of the television show revolves around the girls moving in together and beginning their own babysitting service.
On June 8, 2013, it made its debut. McCurdy didn’t attend the 2014 Nickelodeon Kids’ Choice Awards. It was found that McCurdy and Grande were at odds with the network over their different salaries, and McCurdy claimed that Grande was receiving more money from the network.
The cable network put Sam & Cat on hold. Initially, the network claimed that the break was intentional and that the show had not been canceled. Sam & Cat was canceled by Nickelodeon on July 13, 2014, following just one season.
McCurdy’s Memoir, “I’m Glad My Mom Died,” & Schneider Allegations
McCurdy writes in her memoir that Schneider persuaded her to drink some of his alcohol-laced coffee when she was 18 and gave her an inappropriate shoulder massage.
In 2018, Schneider quit contributing to Nickelodeon.
Schneider was investigated by Nickelodeon’s parent company, ViacomCBS, in 2021, according to The New York Times, and it was discovered that his coworkers perceived him as verbally abusive. In the mix, there are also allegations of sexual misbehavior.
When asked about online reports that some of the comedy in his programs was sexualizing young stars, Schneider told the New York Times that he didn’t behave inappropriately towards his coworkers and that the comedy was pure.
After Sam & Cat concluded, McCurdy claims she was informed by Nickelodeon that they would offer her $300,000 as a “thank-you gift” if she promised to keep quiet about her interactions with the network in general and Schneider in particular.
She claimed that she rejected it right away because it felt like “hush money.”