Jennette McCurdy Said ‘the Creator’ of ‘iCarly’ Made Cast and Crew Cry With Insults — ‘Stupid, Dumb, Sloppy…’

Working with Nickelodeon and “the Creator” wasn’t always a positive experience — especially for cast and crew members. I’m Glad My Mom Died gave a behind-the-scenes look at McCurdy’s iCarly days. Here’s what she wrote about her on-set experiences in the 2022 memoir.

Jennette McCurdy detailed her experience as a child actor with ‘I’m Glad My Mom Died’

In I’m Glad My Mom Died, the former actor, McCurdy, described her time with Nickelodeon. That included descriptions of “the Creator,” a person assumed to create shows like iCarly and Sam & Cat. However, navigating his emotions proved to be complicated.

“I feel like The Creator has two distinct sides,” McCurdy wrote. “One is generous and over-the-top complimentary. He can make anyone feel like the most important person in the world… The Creator knows how to make someone feel important.”

“The other side is mean-spirited, controlling, and terrifying,” she added. “The Creator can tear you down and humiliate you. I’ve seen him do this when he fired a six-year-old on the spot for messing up a few lines on a rehearsal day.” 

Jennette McCurdy said ‘the Creator’ would make the cast and crew of ‘iCarly’ cry

McCurdy mentioned the Creator made adults cry, writing about a boom operator who accidentally dropped a microphone into the shot. As a result, the Creator “screamed in his face,” saying that he was responsible for “ruining a magical take and he hoped that he would regret it for the rest of his life.”

“I’ve seen The Creator make grown men and women cry with his insults and degradation — he’ll call people idiots, buffoons, stupid, dumb, sloppy, careless, r*******, and spineless,” she wrote. “The Creator knows how to make someone feel worthless.”

After several episodes as the supporting character Sam Puckett, the Creator offered McCurdy her own spinoff — Just Puckett. That later became the Nickelodeon original series Sam & Cat, also starring Ariana Grande as her Victorious character Catarina “Cat” Valentine.

He’s never explicitly named in I’m Glad My Mom Died. However, some readers assume “the Creator” is a name used to describe longtime Nickelodeon screenwriter and producer, Dan Schneider. 

“I chose to name him ‘The Creator’ because I find it entertaining and sort of fitting for the person,” McCurdy wrote, according to Vanity Fair. “I feel similarly around The Creator as I feel around Mom — on edge, desperate to please, terrified of stepping out of line.”

Why Jennette McCurdy turned down the ‘iCarly’ reboot

With McCurdy appearing in six seasons of iCarly, the sitcom became one of the most popular Nickelodeon originals. So popular, in fact, that several cast members returned for a Paramount+ reboot, released in 2021. 

McCurdy addressed the new episodes in her memoir, sharing that Miranda Cosgrove asked her to join the cast. Citing mental health reasons, McCurdy took a break from acting, instead releasing her memoir in 2022.