Jennette McCurdy turned heads with the title of her new memoir, I’m Glad My Mom Died. In the scathing book, the iCarly star details the abuse she endured from her late mother, who died from breast cancer in 2013.
However, the former Nickelodeon actor is standing by the decision to name her book I’m Glad My Mom Died. In an interview with Good Morning America on Wednesday, McCurdy addressed the memoir’s divisive title and said she understands why the title has received some backlash. But she argues that those who have experienced parental abuse will appreciate it.
"I get that it’s attention-grabbing but it’s also something that I mean sincerely," she told host George Stephanopoulos. "I’m not saying it at all in a flippant way and while the response might be divided, I really appreciate the positivity that I received from a lot of people and the support that I received from a lot of people.”
"I think that anybody who has experienced parental abuse understands this title and I think anybody who has a sense of humor understands this title. And I’m not so concerned with the opinions of anybody else because this book is not for them."
In the book, which was released 9 August, McCurdy details the emotional and physical abuse she suffered at the hands of her mother, Debra. She writes that her mother “explicitly told her how to engage in disordered eating” so that she could “delay puberty” and continue booking child roles. McCurdy recently revealed in an interview with The Cut that she couldn’t face that she had an eating disorder, and instead she “lived in the delusion that this was mom’s way of helping me and helping my career.”
In 2007, McCurdy was just 15 years old when she made her debut as Sam Puckett in the Nickelodeon sitcom iCarly alongside co-star Miranda Cosgrove. In I’m Glad My Mom Died, McCurdy claimed she was “exploited” by a network official known as “The Creator” throughout her time on the Nickelodeon series. McCurdy alleges she was “photographed in a bikini at a wardrobe fitting” and was “encouraged to drink alcohol by an intimidating figure.”
McCurdy also said that her mother Debra was present during these alleged moments, but didn’t get involved as she believed this was what happened when you were in the acting business, reported the New York Times. Co-star Miranda Cosgrove told the outlet that she had no idea what McCurdy was going through.
“When you’re young, you’re so in your own head,” Cosgrove said. “You can’t imagine that people around you are having much harder struggles.”
