Jennette McCurdy says filming Sam Puckett’s eating scenes made her “anxious” due to her own eating disorder

17 August 2022, 15:00

Jennette McCurdy opens up about new memoir I’m Glad My Mom Died

By Katie Louise Smith

Jennette revealed she had asked producers if they could "dial back on that stuff" because it made her anxious that Sam was constantly eating. [CW // Eating disorders]

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WARNING: This article contains content discussing eating disorders that some people may find triggering.

Jennette McCurdy has opened up about dealing with her own eating disorders while also playing a food-obsessed character on iCarly and Sam & Cat.

As any iCarly stan will know, Jennette's iconic character Sam Puckett loved food. But during those years Jennette spent playing Sam, eating all kinds of weird stuff and having to be the butt of countless food jokes on the shows took its toll mentally.

In her memoir, I'm Glad My Mom Died, Jennette discusses how her mother was mostly to blame for her disordered eating and bulimia at a really young age due to the calorie restrictions she forced on Jennette. When Jennette started acting in iCarly at the age of 15, she said she was already dealing with anorexia.

In a new interview with The Hollywood Reporter, Jennette has now opened up further about what it was like playing Sam while dealing with her own real life struggles.

Jennette McCurdy opens about eating scenes on iCarly and Sam & Cat. Picture: @jennettemccurdy via Instagram, NickRewind via YouTube

Discussing the cruel coincidence that Sam loved food while she herself had a difficult relationship with it, Jennette said: "At the time, I struggled with my character being so focused on food, being that I was suffering from life-threatening eating disorders. But now I see it as the true gift of comedy gold that it is."

"That kind of juxtaposition is just absolutely my sense of humor, where there’s something really tragic that’s underlined by something that’s really polished. It’s hilarious."

In another interview with The Washington Post earlier this month (Aug 5), Jennette revealed that she had asked producers if they could "dial back on that stuff" because it made her anxious that Sam was constantly eating.

"I had some sort of reasoning like, ‘I think there’s so much more to Sam as a character, and I think she goes much deeper than this,’" she said. "But I was not capable of facing the eating disorder for myself so, of course, I wasn’t capable of saying, ‘Hey, I’m actually really struggling with this. So, can we not?’"

Every Time Sam Puckett Ate Something Weird! 🥪 iCarly + Sam & Cat | NickRewind

Jennette then recalled that fans, innocently playing into the gag on the show about her character's obsession with food, would often gift her food and desserts.

"It started to feel like my life was mocking me in every way," she confessed. "They didn’t know what I was struggling with, but it felt like people were just poking directly in every fucking insecurity and every trauma that I had. It was just twisting the knife."