iCarly’s Jennette McCurdy claims she was pictured in bikini and given ALCOHOL by Nickelodeon staffer

Former iCarly star Jennette McCurdy has claimed that she was photographed in a bikini and given alcohol by a ‘creator’ when she was working on the Nickelodeon series, which she began filming when she was only 15.

The actress, now 30, was skyrocketed into the spotlight after she was cast as Carly Shay’s hilarious and spunky best friend, Sam Puckett, in the show, which premiered in September 2007. 

However, Jennette has now alleged in her upcoming memoir, I’m Glad My Mom Died, that she was subjected to inappropriate behavior from an unnamed Nickelodeon staffer – who she said made her pose in swimsuits and offered her alcohol during her time on the show, which concluded when she was age 20.

She alleged that she was photographed in a two-piece during a fitting and was encouraged to drink liquor by ‘an intimidating figure she simply called the Creator,’ the New York Times reported.

‘My whole childhood and adolescence were very exploited,’ she told the outlet, while discussing the book, which is set to come out on August 9. ‘It still gives my nervous system a reaction to say it. 

‘There were cases where people had the best intentions and maybe didn’t know what they were doing. And also cases where they did – they knew exactly what they were doing.’

All the while, the singer said she was also being abused by her mother, Debra McCurdy, who allegedly would perform breast and vaginal exams on her, while claiming she was inspecting her body for cancer.

Jennette wrote in her autobiography that Debra, who also served as her manager, controlled almost every aspect of her life – including her appearances and roles, as well as what she ate and when she bathed – and that she would never let her shower alone.

Jennette said Debra was obsessed with her appearance and started bleaching her hair and whitening her teeth when she was 10. 

A year later, the actress said her mom taught her how to restrict calories – and by the time she was cast in iCarly, she claimed she was already struggling with anorexia. 

Jennette wrote that the years of abuse led to her suffering from obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD), anxiety, and multiple eating disorders. 

She said that her mom would sometimes witness Nickelodeon’s wrongdoings, but would not stick up for her; and if Jennette ever voiced her concerns, she said she was told to not complain because ‘everyone wants what you have.’ 

Jennette, who grew up in Southern California, started auditioning for roles at age six per the recommendation of her mom, who wanted to be an actress herself but was told as a kid by her own parents that she couldn’t follow the career path.

She was cast in a few commercials before landing the pivotal role as Sam in iCarly, and she recalled feeling pure excitement when she got the part.

‘Everything’s going to be better,’ she remembered thinking in an excerpt from the memoir obtained by the Times. ‘Mom will finally be happy. Her dream has come true.’

She acted in iCarly for six seasons before it came to an end in 2012. And while she was secretly dealing with alleged horrific abuse from her mother, she never let her trauma come to light on set.

‘When you’re young, you’re so in your own head. You can’t imagine that people around you are having much harder struggles,’ Jennette’s iCarly costar, Miranda Cosgrove, told the Times when asked if she knew about Jennette’s abuse.

‘You don’t expect things like that from the person in the room who’s making everyone laugh.’ 

After its success, Jennette went on to star in iCarly’s spinoff series, Sam & Cat, alongside Ariana Grande.

However, she wrote that she was left frustrated after being told by Nickelodeon that she wasn’t allowed to pursue any other career opportunities during her time on the show, while the other female lead, Ariana’s career flourished.

‘What finally undid me was when Ariana came whistle-toning in with excitement because she had spent the previous evening playing charades at Tom Hanks’s house. That was the moment I broke,’ she recalled in her book.

After Sam & Cat ran its course – it was only on the air for one season from 2013 to 2014 – Jennette said Nickelodeon offered her $300,000 to never speak about her experiences on the network, which she turned down.

As Jennette got older, she explained that her relationship with her mother became more and more strained.

In her book, she detailed an email she received from Debra, in which she allegedly called her a ‘slut’ and ‘an ugly monster’ while asking if she could have money to buy a refrigerator.

Debra passed away from breast cancer in 2013, when Jennette was 21 years old, and while she recalled feeling elated, she struggled to navigate the world without her mother’s control.

She said she started having sex, experimenting with alcohol, and binge eating, after which she would make herself throw up. 

For years, she admitted that she struggled with a dependency on alcohol and bulimia; and now, Jennette credits her recovery from her eating disorders in 2018 to therapy. 

She went on to star in a series of movies and TV shows including What’s Next for Sarah?, Pet, Adam and Wiley’s Lost Weekend, Between, and Little B***hes, but after her Netflix series, Between, got canceled in 2016, she took a break from acting so that she could truly heal from her past.

‘I want my life to be in my hands. Not an eating disorder’s or a casting director’s or an agent’s or my mom’s. Mine,’ she wrote in her upcoming book.

Last year, she began performing in a one-woman show called I’m Glad My Mom Died in Los Angeles, California, in which she shared much of her story with the audience. 

She originally wanted to take the show on the road but the pandemic put her plans on pause, so she instead began writing her memoir.

‘I really wanted to build it out a lot more, get more into the childhood aspect of the story and work through the arc in a way that you only can with a book,’ she told the Times.

She added that the one-woman show helped ‘repair some of the really weighted, complicated relationships that she had with acting,’ and that she hopes releasing the autobiography will do the same.

‘It felt like finally I’m saying my words and saying things I want to be saying. I’m myself,’ she explained.

‘I have people around me now that are so supportive and so loving. It makes me tearful with joy. I feel so safe. I feel so much trust and so much openness.’

And while the title of the show – and now her book – is harsh, she feels it is necessary.

‘You can’t believe how hard and how laughable it is at the same time,’ she concluded. ‘That’s completely my sense of humor.

‘I feel like I’ve done the processing and put in the work to earn a title or a thought that feels provocative.’