Former Nickelodeon star Jennette McCurdy has admitted she feels ‘scared’ of returning to the showbiz lifestyle she once had.
McCurdy recently penned best-selling memoir I’m Glad My Mom Died, which details the abuse she suffered at the hands of her own mother, who pushed her into acting at a young age.
Appearing on The Daily Show with Trevor Noah, the 30-year-old expressed her concerns about getting ‘caught up in the whirlwind of showbiz again'.
Host Noah – pointing out that his guest had moved from acting into ‘behind-the-camera' work like writing, directing and podcasting – asked if McCurdy ever worried that the ‘toxic’ entertainment industry would ‘suck’ her back in.
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“How do you prevent yourself from going back into that space of feeling like you're defined by everything you hated once?" He asked her.
She replied: "I have been scared of that. There have been a few times when I have done some press that shall not be named where it's so bizarre because I'm, like, hearing the pre-roll of, you know, they show, like, the clip of me from the past or whatever and it's so dramatic."
McCurdy continued: "It's like, 'McCurdy vanished from the spotlight after her traumatic childhood with the devastation.' It's like, 'Geez, can we calm down?'"
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The star said it was ‘easy to lose sight of reality in these environments’, but that she tries to keep herself ‘grounded’ and stay on top of therapy, while also ‘being in touch with things that are really good touchstones and grounding tools’ for her.
She added: "I do not want to get lost in it. But also, I will say, I trust that I won't. I don't think I had the tools before to not get lost in it and to not feel sort of caught up in the whirlwind of showbiz, but now I feel like, you know what? There are some elements that are cool about it – like this – and then, there are some that aren't and that's fine. I can use my own discernment and just be grateful for the good experiences."
McCurdy, best known for playing Sam Puckett in Nickelodeon sitcom iCarly, used her best-selling book to speak out about her troubled youth as a successful child star – and the control from late mum Debra that came with it.
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Revealing how her mother controlled her life up until her early 20s, when Debra passed away from breast cancer in 2013, McCurdy also explains in the memoir how her mum encouraged ‘calorie restriction’ when she hit puberty so that she could appear smaller and book more roles for children, and would weigh her five times a day – in turn triggering a life-long journey with anorexia and bulimia.
If you've been affected by any of the issues in this article and would like to speak with someone in confidence, call the BEAT Eating Disorders helpline on 0808 801 0677. Helplines are open 365 days a year from 9am–8pm during the week, and 4pm–8pm on weekends and bank holidays. Alternatively, you can try the one-to-one webchat
Topics: Celebrity
Jess Hardiman