Ariana Grande and Janet McCurdy both got their big breaks playing supporting characters in Nickelodeon TV shows – Victorious and iCarly, respectively. But when the two came together as co-stars on a third show – Sam & Cat – on the children’s network, McCurdy claims he was treated much less than his classmate, who would go on to become the eldest. Will become one of the pop stars. Planet.
Days away from the Tuesday (August 9) release of McCurdy’s memoir I’m Glad My Mom Died, The New York Times interviewed the 30-year-old actress and published an excerpt from the book. En route, she alleged that Nickelodeon encouraged Grande to pursue career ventures outside the show, but prevented her from doing so.
According to the NYT excerpt, McCurdy wrote in the memoir, “I finally found out when Ariana was whistling with excitement as she spent the previous evening playing at Tom Hanks’ house.” “That was the moment I broke up.”
Sam & Cat only aired for one 35-episode season before being canceled in 2014. By that time, Grande had released her debut album, Yours Truly, from which two singles (“The Way” feat. Mac Miller and “Baby I”) charted in the top 40 of the Billboard Hot 100.
After announcing the cancellation of Sam & Cat, the “Position” singer tweeted, “I want to thank Nickelodeon for making my childhood dream come true.” “For being a family to me, for being so friendly and supportive of my multitasking with my music career, and certainly for introducing me to many of my fans from years ago.”
Just before the show ended, it was speculated that Grande and McCurdy were at odds with the former’s salary being higher than the latter’s. The two-time Grammy winner took to Twitter in 2014 to clear the air. “The rumors about our contracts and our salaries not being equal are absolutely ridiculous and false,” she wrote at the time, although the tweet has since been deleted. “I don’t know who is putting up these silly quotes, but I thought I’d straighten it out and try to put an end to this nonsense.”
Even though Grande denied any conflict with McCurdy in her tweets, McCurdy took a few shots at her former costar later that year via her web series What’s Next for Sarah? The show featured a character named Gloriana, who wears a high ponytail similar to Grande’s signature style, claims to be a vegetarian (like Grande) while carrying a leather bag, and continues her life and music career. brags about.
Years later, McCurdy opened up on his Empty Inside podcast about what he felt like working with Grande during the pop star’s sudden international fame. “She would have to leave the job because she was pulled in all directions,” said the Thugs actress. “She’s performing at the Grammys and I’m starring in this show with a box because they decided for that week that her character would have to be stuck in a box so she could perform at the Grammys.”
Since the days of Nickelodeon, McCurdy has shied away from acting and specifically refused to participate in the 2021 Paramount+ reboot of iCarly. In I’m Glad My Mom is Dead, she describes how her career, life and even physical appearance were controlled by her mother, Debra, who died of cancer in 2013.
According to the NYT, McCurdy also writes about what she thinks is an outrage from working for Nickelodeon, which she alleged offered her $300,000 for not talking about working for the network. – which he said he refused. She also alleges how a supervillain figure she calls “The Creator” encouraged her to drink alcohol even though she was only a teenager on the show.
Nickelodeon declined to comment for the NYT story; Billboard has also been reached for comment.
“My whole childhood and adolescence was exploited a lot,” she told the Times. “It still makes my nervous system react to say this. There were cases where people had the best of intentions and probably didn’t know what they were doing. And also cases where they did – they knew what they were actually doing.