The iCarly star suffered physical and emotional abuse at the hands of her mother, Debbie, who died of cancer in 2013. Jennette McCurdy, who played Sam in the show's original run, opted not to take part in the reboot due to her retirement from acting. While she's touched on her reasons before, the star is now truly opening up. Recently, Jennette revealed to People magazine all the details about her relationship with her late mother.
Those allegations include her controversial stories with Debbie, who abused her psychologically since she was a child. Although Jennette has gone through intense therapy to recover from all the trauma, the memories with her late mother still haunt her. Fans are praising her for being strong enough to share her story. Let's take a look at the star's controversial relationship with her mother.
Violent Environment at Home
During her interview with People, Jennette detailed her rocky life at home, explaining, "My earliest memories of childhood were of heaviness and chaos. My mom's emotions were so erratic that it was like walking a tightrope every day. The mood fluctuations were daily." She told the magazine that she "witnessed physical fighting between her parents" and that her mom Debbie's outbursts would often become "violent" when she was a young girl.
Her mother's attention shifted around the time Jennette turned six years old. She said, "My mom had always dreamt of being a famous actor, and she became obsessed with making me a star... I felt like my job was to keep the peace. And I wanted to make my mom happy."
Admitting that she was "cripplingly shy" back then, Jennette obliged and went on auditions that soon landed her steady work, which should've been a happy and exciting time for her. However, based on her revelations, it was anything but that.
Jennette McCurdy's Experience With Eating Disorders
By age 10, her mother began bleaching Jennette's hair, whitening her teeth, and by age 11, Debbie introduced her daughter to calorie counting, something that had lasting effects on Jennette.
When she landed the coveted role of Sam on iCarly, the actress says she was suffering from full-fledged anorexia, which would later transform into binge eating and then become bulimia.
Not only was she enduring eating disorders, but Jennette revealed that up until age 17, her mother "insisted on performing v*ginal and br*ast exams and never let her daughter shower alone."
At that age, the star was already three years into starring on a hit show. The actress explained she was "so repressed and delayed developmentally" thanks to Debbie's intense control over her daughter. Once Debbie died of cancer in 2013, Jennette said she was finally able to rebel.
Feeling Free After Her Mother's Death
She began having s*x and experimenting with alcohol for the first time, which set her up for a years-long struggle with bulimia and a dependency on alcohol. Until she decided it was time to make some significant changes and build a life for herself outside of her late mother's control and constraints.
Jennette said, "It's a risk to change your life, but I made it my mission. I did not know how to find my identity without my mom. And I'm not going to lie. It was very hard to get here. But now, I'm at a place in my life that I never would have thought was possible. And I finally feel free."
Fans can't help but be proud of Jennette for surviving all of that and now telling the world about it. She went on to say that the only reason she's been able to heal was her mom's death, admitting, "I know if my mom were alive, I'd still have an eating disorder. It was only distance from her that allowed me to get healthy."
Now that the star has recovered thanks to "intense therapy," Jennette has transformed her experience into a darkly comedic one-woman show. Its name is I'm Glad My Mom Died, a title she calls "thought-provoking." The actress went on to explain: "Even though it may seem black and white, there's a fullness to my narrative. Life can be dark — and messy. Nobody has a perfect life."
Currently, Jennette is hard at work on an upcoming memoir that will dive even further into everything that happened in her life and will be a way for her to share her whole story on her own terms.
Has Jennette McCurdy Watched the iCarly Revival?
The iCarly revival premiered on Paramount+ back in June, and fans love the new take on the old show. Original cast members Miranda Cosgrove, Nathan Kress, and Jerry Trainor were joined by Laci Mosley and Jaidyn Triplett.
Obviously, fans noticed that Jennette McCurdy, aka Carly's best friend Sam, was missing from the reboot. The actress eventually revealed that she wouldn't be taking part in the revival and that she was putting acting behind her to focus on other projects. But despite not being in the show, Miranda spoke to Entertainment Tonight about why it was still so important for her to include Sam in the storyline of the reboot.
Miranda revealed, "I don't think that she [Jennette McCurdy] has seen the show since it aired. I'm not sure if she will or not, but I'd love to know if she ever does watch it, if she likes it or what she thinks of it."