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Jennette McCurdy expanded on her harrowing experience as a child star in a recent appearance on “Red Table Talk.” McCurdy recently opened up about the years of mental, physical, and emotional abuse she suffered at the hands of her late mother, Debra McCurdy, in her memoir “I’m Glad My Mom Died,” which was released on Aug. 9.
In the memoir, she addressed her experience on Nickelodeon shows, including “iCarly.” In her book, McCurdy writes she had an “easy” and “pure” friendship with Miranda Cosgrove, who portrays the titular Carly. Expanding on their relationship during “Red Table Talk,” McCurdy said,
“I’m very grateful for that friendship, it did provide me a lot of comfort in those really challenging years,” McCurdy told cohosts Jada Pinkett Smith, Willow Smith, and Adrienne Banfield-Norris and therapist Kelly McDaniel. “My relationship with Miranda was hugely healing to my concept of women, and my mom was always saying, ‘Men will never really know you and they’ll hurt you, but women will know you deeply and then they’ll hurt you. You tell me which is worse.’ These are the thoughts that I hear about women, not to mention my very complicated relationship with my mum, and then seeing her relationship with her mum on top of it. And I have three brothers, who I love, and I felt this sort of trust toward boys that I didn’t feel toward girls, very young. And Miranda helped me to heal that relationship, but it is something that I still struggle with.”
For a story on McCurdy published in August, Cosgrove told The New York Times: “When you’re young, you’re so in your own head. You can’t imagine that people around you are having much harder struggles.” Added Cosgrove, “You don’t expect things like that from the person in the room who’s making everyone laugh.”
Throughout the “Red Table Talk” episode, McCurdy opened up about the depths of her mother’s abuse and how it has affected her life in the long term, even after her mom’s death. She also received support and encouragement via pre-recorded videos from other celebrities, including fellow child star Bella Thorne. Said Thorne, “I’m so, so proud of you, you’re such a trailblazer and a strong voice for women to see that you can stick up and say how you feel and be your own voice.”
