*Facebook’s Emmy-winning series “Red Table Talk” will return with new episodes starting Sept. 7.
The premiere will kick off with hosts Jada Pinkett Smith, Willow Smith and Adrienne Banfield-Norris having a candid conversation with former child star Jennette McCurdy. The actress will detail “decades of torment, exploitation and manipulation inflicted by her very own mother,” per a press release via Urban Hollywood 411.
McCurdy, 30, is best known for starring in Nickelodeon’s “iCarly”. In her new memoir “I’m Glad My Mom Died,” she claims the show’s “creator” (Dan Schneider) frequently supplied children with alcohol and requested massages on set.
McCurdy doesn’t mention Schneider by name in the book but he has long been plagued by accusations that his TV productions foster a toxic and abusive environment with women and young girls and that he sexualizes children.
READ MORE: Queen Latifah Talks Weight Stigma, Being Labeled Obese on Red Table Talk’ | Video
thank you all for making I’m Glad My Mom Died a #1 New York Times bestseller in both print hardcovers & print + e-book combined for two weeks in a row !! i really can’t believe it and am trying to appreciate this moment as much as i can. pic.twitter.com/3QobBIOVUm
— Jennette McCurdy (@jennettemccurdy) August 29, 2022
Schneider also created hit Nickelodeon shows “Drake & Josh,” “Victorious” and “Sam & Cat.” Several stars have spoken out about working with him.
In response to his problematic behavior, Russell Hicks, former President of Content and Production at Nickelodeon, released a statement to E! News. He claims 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 added: “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 every joke. They had a billion-dollar brand to protect.”
Russell’s statement ends with: “Every single thing that Dan ever did on any of his shows was carefully scrutinized and approved by executives at Nickelodeon.”
In a separate comment to E! News, he called Jennette’s book “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. Hopefully, it’ll help others get the help that they need.”
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