Dan Schneider’s team has released a statement following Jennette McCurdy’s memoir

Dan Schneider’s team has released a statement following the claims made in Jennette McCurdy’s memoir, I’m Glad My Mom Died. Schneider was one of the most popular producers in children’s televisions in the 1990s and 2000s and was behind some of the biggest shows including iCarly and Victorious. Following the release of McCurdy’s memoir, she writes about negative experiences she faced as a child actor. While Schneider is not mentioned by name, Jennette refers to someone she calls “The Creator”.

The discussion of the controversies surrounding Dan Schneider and his time at Nickelodeon arose off the back of the book being published. Jennette described “The Creator” as “mean-spirited, controlling and terrifying”. In response to the concerns from fans about Schneider’s behaviour, former President of Content and Production at Nickelodeon, has released a statement on behalf of Dan Schneider and his team to E! News.

In the statement, Russell claimed Dan “cared about the kids on his shows, even when their own families did not. He was the shoulder they cried on when something happened to them. He understood what they were going through. Dan was like the great high school counsellor you could always turn to for help and guidance. And he was their biggest champion.”

Russell continued to say: “Nickelodeon’s reputation as the best in kids’ television required that nothing went on without the company knowing. There is a standards and practices group that reads every script and programming executives looking at every episode. Add to that every day on every set, were the parents and caregivers and their friends watching every single frame of footage and listening to ever joke. They had a billion-dollar brand to protect.”

He mentioned that anything Dan ever did on his shows “was carefully scrutinised and approved by executives at Nickelodeon.”

Russell did not address Jennette’s claims in her book and said he thought her memoir was “a beautiful tribute to getting the help she needed to get through the trauma she experienced with balancing her family and high pressured work life.”

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