Josh Peck is praising his former Nickelodeon star Jennette McCurdy’s new memoir I’m Glad My Mom Died, calling it a “thoughtful way of expressing her journey”. Peck published his own memoir, Happy People Are Annoying, earlier this year. McCurdy’s book was published earlier this month.
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“I just think it’s incredibly brave,” Peck said to ET of the memoir. “And for her to do it in a way [where] she has this beautifully biting comedic voice and this thoughtful way of expressing her journey and her pain and her challenge.”
He continued, “I just honor her in that because it takes a lot of guts. But I also know the sort of power that when you do get vulnerable and share your story, how so many people can see themselves in it and find a little bit of a reprieve, so I’m just really proud of her.”
Peck also told the outlet that he related quite a bit to McCurdy’s experiences and memoir.
“Navigating, sort of, growing up in the public eye, you’re not always afforded sort of the opportunity to stumble in a safe way that you would be if you were just having a normal kid experience,” Peck said.
McCurdy’s memoir details her experience working on the beloved Nickelodeon series iCarly while also experiencing an abusive and controlling relationship with her now-late mother. In the book McCurdy reveals those circumstances ultimately led her to turning down the opportunity to return as Sam Puckett in the continuation of the series, despite her co-star Miranda Cosgrove reminding her that coming back would be “really good money”. McCurdy revealed in 2021 that she’s also quit acting — something that isn’t changing anytime soon.
“[I said] ‘Miranda, I’m not doing the reboot. There’s nothing you can say to convince me,’” McCurdy writes. “She tells me she thinks the reboot could be an opportunity for all of us in the cast to ‘get back out there,’ maybe get some other opportunities from it.
“‘But there are things more important than money. And my mental health and happiness fall under that category.’ There’s a moment of silence. It’s one of those rare moments where I feel like I didn’t say too much, or too little. I feel like I represented myself accurately and there’s nothing I would change about the way I said it. I feel proud. We wrap up our conversation, promising to keep in touch, and hang up.”
McCurdy also wrote about the friendship she developed with Cosgrove over the original series, culminating in the two of them crying when they filmed their final scene on the show together.
“The reason I’m crying is that I don’t know what will become of my friendship with Miranda. We’ve gotten so close. Like sisters, but without the passive-aggression and weird tensions,” McCurdy writes. “I have my judgments around female friendships being catty and petty and backstabby, but that couldn’t be further from the truth with Miranda. With Miranda, it’s always been so easy. Our friendship is pure.”
“There was no need to worry about context; our friendship has gotten stronger since iCarly ended,” McCurdy continues. “We hang out three or four times a week. Usually one of the nights is a sleepover.”
The iCarly revival has been renewed for a third season, which will premiere exclusively on Paramount+.
