Ex iCarly Cast Member Faces Backlash Following Memoir Release

Neve O'Brien, MVC writer

Former iCarly cast member, Jennette McCurdy, is currently facing criticism for “insensitive” details of her memoir, “I’m Glad My Mom Died.”

People are slamming the Sam Puckett portrayer for allegedly disrespecting her mother with the title of her memoir, though some say she has every reason.

Many Ariana Grande fans (widely known as “Arianators”) are also snapping at McCurdy for the supposed judgment she made towards Grande, who played Cat Valentine on “Victorious” and “Sam & Cat.”

In response to fans claiming the title of her book was “offensive,” she rebutted in an interview with “The Cut” saying, “I mean it sincerely. I’m not saying it at all in a flippant way.”

She continued, “I think that anybody who has experienced parental abuse understands this title and I think anybody who has a sense of humor understands this title.”

McCurdy talks in her book about how her mom forced her into acting to support the family, encouraged and taught disordered eating to “delay puberty,” and allowed adults to take bikini photos of McCurdy in the dressing room during “fittings” because she thought it was “what happened.”

McCurdy’s mom, Debra McCurdy, died on September 20, 2013, due to breast cancer.

The 4-time Kids’ Choice Award winner also mentioned in her book how she felt “jealous” of the blatant favoritism towards the “Honeymoon Avenue” singer, with Ariana frequently missing set days for “Sam & Cat” as a consequence of her rising music career while McCurdy was forced to stay on-set.

In her book, she says, “So I have to turn down movies while Ariana’s off whistle-toning at the Billboard Music Awards?” She followed this up with an expletive which showed she did not agree with this idea.

Fans of Grande took this as an insult, expressing on Twitter that it wasn’t Grande’s fault that she had a busy schedule. Others pointed out that McCurdy never directly/explicitly blamed Grande, only that she did not like her out of jealousy. Furthermore, defenders of the memoir said that she was blaming the management crew for clearly picking favorites.

Besides the backlash, the book received great reviews and is still available to buy at Barnes and Noble and Amazon.