Jennette McCurdy Was “Pissed” and “Jealous” of Ariana’s Grande’s Success on ‘Sam & Cat’

Jennette McCurdy is dropping more bombshells from her time as a Nickelodeon star. The actress, who appeared in iCarly and its spinoff, Sam & Cat, detailed her relationship with costar Ariana Grande in her new memoir, I’m Glad My Mom Died.

In an excerpt of the book obtained by Entertainment Tonight, McCurdy admitted she grew “jealous” of Grande, who was “a burgeoning pop star” at the time of their show, which aired for one season of Nickelodeon from 2013-2014. Grande would “go sing at award shows, record new songs, and do press for her upcoming album,” leaving McCurdy to “angrily hold down the fort” on Sam & Cat, she writes.

McCurdy claims in her book that she had to sacrifice professional opportunities to film iCarly, but Grande was not held to the same standards on Sam & Cat.

“I booked two features during iCarly that I had to turn down because the iCarly team wouldn’t write me out of episodes to go shoot them,” McCurdy writes. When Grande missed filming, McCurdy was left on her own, and had to film with an empty box as her co-star in one instance, she alleges.

“The week where I was told Ariana would not be here at all, and that they would write around her absence this episode by having her character be locked in a box. Are you. Kidding me,” she writes. “So I have to turn down movies while Ariana’s off whistle-toning at the Billboard Music Awards? F**k. This.”

McCurdy writes that she grew to “resent” her “good sport” label, which she claims landed her in the Sam & Cat “predicament”: “I wouldn’t be on this sh**ty show saying these sh**ty lines on this sh**ty set with this sh**ty hairstyle. Maybe my life would be entirely different right now. I fantasize about it being different. But it’s not different. It’s this. This is what it is. Ariana misses work in pursuit of her music career while I act with a box. I’m pissed about it. And I’m pissed at her. Jealous of her.”

McCurdy also notes that while Grande was landing on 30 Under 30 lists, her achievements included landing a deal with the Walmart tween clothing line Rebecca Bonbon.

“I frequently make the mistake of comparing my career to Ariana’s. I can’t help it. I’m constantly in the same environment as her, and she doesn’t exactly try to hide her successes,” she writes.

In another excerpt from her book, McCurdy said Grande’s relationship with other Hollywood figures was also difficult for her to experience, pointing to the moment that “broke” her on Sam & Cat, when Grande returned to work after she had played charades with Tom Hanks.