“You can’t imagine that people around you are having much harder struggles.”
The two played best friends in the Nickelodeon hit show and even remained friends after filming.
Well this week, excerpts of Jennette’s memoir I’m Glad My Mom Died were published on Vanity Fair. And in the book, Jennette detailed the alleged abuse and exploitation she faced at the hands of a Nickelodeon executive she dubbed “The Creator.”
“My whole childhood and adolescence were very exploited,” Jennette told the New York Times. “It still gives my nervous system a reaction to say it. There were cases where people had the best intentions and maybe didn’t know what they were doing. And also cases where they did — they knew exactly what they were doing.”
She said The Creator — who she described as “mean-spirited, controlling, and terrifying” — encouraged her to drink alcohol when she was 14.
She also said he gave her a shoulder massage without her asking. “You’re about to star in your own TV show, for crying out loud,” Jennette recalled The Creator saying. “‘You know how many kids would kill for that opportunity? Every last one of them.’ I nod along. He reaches out and places his hand on my knee. I get goosebumps.”
Jennette said eventually The Creator — whom many assume is the show’s creator, Dan Schneider — had been banned from being on set after being investigated for “emotional abuse allegations.” She said he had to give feedback in his “cave-like room off to the side of the soundstage, surrounded by piles of cold cuts, his favorite snack, and Kids’ Choice Awards.”
“I appreciate the amount of trouble he’s gotten in. It wasn’t just a slap on the wrist sort of thing. It’s to the point where he’s no longer allowed to be on set with any actors, which makes communication in between takes complicated.”
Jennette wrote that Nickelodeon then offered her $300,000 to never speak of what happened. She declined.
Now, Miranda has commented on the allegations made in Jennette’s memoir.
“When you’re young, you’re so in your own head,” Miranda told the New York Times.
“You can’t imagine that people around you are having much harder struggles,” she said.
“You don’t expect things like that from the person in the room who’s making everyone laugh,” Miranda continued.
You can read Jennette’s expert in Vanity Fair here.