Shola Lee
A former Nickelodeon boss has released a statement on behalf of Dan Schneider, in response to Jennette McCurdy's memoir claims.
On 9 August, McCurdy released a memoir titled I'm Glad My Mum Died.
In the book, she writes about her experience as a young actress, being under the control of her mother Debra McCurdy, and claims that 'the creator' of iCarly shouted at her frequently and forced her to reshoot her first on-screen kiss multiple times.
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Schneider is widely credited as the creator of iCarly, which McCurdy starred in from 2007 to 2012.
Now, Russell Hicks, the former president of Content and Production at Nickelodeon has addressed the claims.
Hicks said that Schneider 'cared about the kids on his shows, even when their own families did not. He was the shoulder they cried on when something happened to them'.
"He understood what they were going through. Dan was like the great high school counsellor you could always turn to for help and guidance. And he was their biggest champion."
The former boss goes on to say that 'nothing went on [during the shows] without the company knowing'.
He also affirmed that the actors taking part in the shows were safeguarded: "There is a standards and practices group that reads every script and programming executives looking at every episode.
"Add to that every day on every set, were the parents and caregivers and their friends watching every single frame of footage and listening to every joke. They had a billion-dollar brand to protect."
Hicks added that everything Schneider did on the show was checked over: "Every single thing that Dan ever did on any of his shows was carefully scrutinized and approved by executives at Nickelodeon."
Schneider has not yet responded to the allegations and Hicks was careful not to address McCurdy's book directly.
In fact, in a separate statement, the former boss said: "I think Jenette's book is really a beautiful tribute to getting the help she needed to get through the trauma she experienced with balancing her family and high pressured work life. Hopefully, it'll help others get the help that they need."
Elsewhere in the memoir, McCurdy says that she was offered $300,000 by Nickelodeon to never talk about her experience and that her manager told her: "They’re giving you $300,000 and the only thing they want you to do is never talk publicly about your experience at Nickelodeon."
UNILAD has gone to Nickelodeon for comment.
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