Trigger warning: This article discusses eating disorders.
Former child actress Jennette McCurdy has read out loud an email she received from her mother during her debut on Jada Pinkett Smith’s talk show Red Table Talk.
The actress, who is now 30 years old recently released a bombshell memoir aptly titled I’m glad my mom died which detailed the abuse she suffered at the hands of her mother, Debra McCurdy, who passed away in 2013.
“I am so disappointed in you,” read the first line of the email, which was also included in her book.
“You used to be my perfect little angel, but now you are nothing more than a little … s**t, a floozy, all used up.”
Her mother went on to describe Jennette as a “conniving, evil … liar,” asking where her “good little girl” had gone.
“Where did she go and who is this monster that has replaced her?”
“You’re an ugly monster now. I told your brothers about you, and they all said they disown you just like I do. We want nothing to do with you.”
The email concluded, “P.S. Send money for a new fridge; ours broke.”
Jennette joked in the interview that “it’s the ‘P.S’ that gets me” as the rest of the group were visibly shocked.
The horrific email also commented on Jennette’s weight, with her mother writing; “you look pudgier too, it’s clear you’re eating your guilt.”
Jennette has been open about how she suffered from an eating disorder and restrictive eating while growing up.
The letter is the latest shocking insight into Jennette’s memoir, which also attacked Nickelodeon.
Jennette claims that she was offered US$300,000 from Nickelodeon if she agreed to never speak publicly about her experiences at the network – particularly the behaviour of an unnamed individual she calls “The Creator.”
Speaking with Time, Jennette expressed the hope of preventing other child actors from meeting a similar fate to her own, explaining “my hope would be that any child actor doesn’t lose their authentic self.”
“That’s the thing that gets rattled if you lose sight of it: who you are underneath the characters and lights and red carpets.”
If you or someone you know has been affected by any of the issues raised in this article, help is always available. Call The Butterfly Foundation’s national helpline on 1800 33 4673 or visit their website.
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