Jennette McCurdy Says She Was Photographed In Bikini, Given Alcohol As A Child Star

Jennette McCurdy is opening up about the trauma she suffered as a child actor.

The 30-year-old retired actress played comedic roles in Nickelodeon's "iCarly" and "Sam & Cat." However, her experiences while on those projects were far from happy.

"My whole childhood and adolescence were very exploited," McCurdy tearfully told the New York Times (NYT) Thursday. "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."

According to an excerpt obtained by the outlet of her new memoir, "I'm Glad My Mom Died," McCurdy wrote about "being photographed in a bikini at a wardrobe fitting and being encouraged to drink alcohol by an intimidating figure she simply calls the Creator."

She said in her book that her mother Debra McCurdy, who died of cancer in 2013, was present for some of these instances but did not intervene or speak up, believing it was the price of fame, according to the publication.

"Everyone wants what you have," Debra reportedly told her daughter, according to McCurdy's book.

Marcus McCurdy, the oldest of Jennette's three brothers, told NYT that their mom was consistently volatile when they were growing up. He recalled "always walking on eggshells" as their mother would be fine one day and the next day would "be yelling at everybody." He added that holidays in their household were "super overdramatic" and that their mom would "lose her mind on Christmas if something wasn't perfect."

In her book, McCurdy also wrote how she was under the assumption that she would get her own "iCarly" spinoff on Nickelodeon but ended up getting a co-starring slot on "Sam & Cat," which paired her with Ariana Grande.

She also claimed that Nickelodeon prevented her from accepting other career opportunities during her time on "Sam & Cat" but that this rule apparently didn't apply to Grande.

"What finally undid me was when Ariana came whistle-toning in with excitement because she had spent the previous evening playing charades at Tom Hanks's house. That was the moment I broke," she wrote in her memoir, according to the publication.

"iCarly" star Miranda Cosgrove, who became close to McCurdy while working on the show, admitted that she was unaware at the time of the many difficulties her friend was facing.

"When you're young, you're so in your own head," Cosgrove told NYT. "You can't imagine that people around you are having much harder struggles."

She added in a softer voice, "You don't expect things like that from the person in the room who's making everyone laugh."

While McCurdy's memoir has not yet been released, it's already caused trouble among her family. "Our grandmother is very upset about that title," her brother Marcus told NYT.

However, he said he supported his sister’s decision to write her memoir and give it such a shocking title. "You can either be like, 'Woe is me, my life is horrible.' Or you find the humor in these things that are really tragic," he added.

"I'm Glad My Mom Died" hits shelves Tuesday.