iCarly star Jennette McCurdy's upcoming memoir gives a disturbing insight into the world of child actors including being photographed in bikinis.
McCurdy's memoir, 'I’m Glad My Mom Died', is set to be published August 9 and excerpts show the book reveals the actor's shocking experience working on hit-shows and under the constant control of her mother, Debra McCurdy.
The now 30-year-old says in the book that her mother controlled her career, her meals, and even supervised the actor's showers. McCurdy's mother, who had cancer, administered breast and vaginal examinations and shaved her daughters legs.
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One email produced in the memoir - according to The New York Times - shows her calling her a slut, floozy, and an ugly monster. The email ends with her asking for money for a new refrigerator.
The actor's diet which consisted of shredded pieces of low calorie bologna and lettuce contributed to her eating disorders. McCurdy also struggled with obsessive-compulsive disorder and anxiety triggered by her fame.
Her mother died in 2013, yet McCurdy still battles the effects of her mother's controlling abuse.
McCurdy was pushed into acting at the age of six by her mother who had herself been discouraged from acting.
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She eventually landed iCarly in 2007 and writes that she thought the booking would finally make her mom happy.
Throughout her career on Nickelodeon, McCurdy endured several humiliating moments. On one instance she writes of being photographed while in a bikini. In another she said she was encouraged to drink by a person she simply calls the 'Creator'.
Debra was present in some of these moments and would not intervene. Instead she would tell her daughter this is the reality of success.
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In the memoir, the actor details her breaking point on the spin-off show 'Sam & Cat'. McCurdy was already disappointed with the co-starring show as she had been promised her own spin-off.
Then seeing singer and actor Ariana Grande thrive in work beyond Nickelodeon - which McCurdy was prevented from doing herself - was further disheartening.
She writes: "There, she says her superiors on these shows prevented her from pursuing career opportunities outside the show while Grande thrived in her extracurricular work.
“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.”
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She has since gone on to perform a one-woman show also called I'm Glad My Mom Died and began writing a series of personal essay on her childhood.
“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 writes.
Topics: Ariana Grande, Film and TV, Books, Celebrity
Sonja Tutty