Jennette McCurdy Says She's No Role Model; If You Want An Idol Who Doesn't Post Sexy Selfies on Instagram, Look Around

Jennette McCurdy, iCarly star who leaked nowhere near-naked lingerie selfies on Instagram, is saying goodbye to the cutesy TV role she used to be in a lengthy Reddit piece.

Reminding her fans that it's impossible to be perfect under celebrity scrutiny, McCurdy says fans who prefer a role model who never texts hot selfies should find another celebrity to follow.

Jennette McCurdy's nearly naked lingerie selfies went viral back in March and might had something to do with Nickelodeon cancelling "Sam and Cat." Now, almost two weeks after Nickelodeon canceled the show and Ariana Grande posted her goodbye statement to Facebook, Jennette McCurdy opened up about the demise of the Dan Schneider comedy.

McCurdy played feisty Sam Pucket on both "iCarly" and "Sam and Cat" at Nickelodeon. While she is reportedly still BFFs with Miranda Cosgrove, who played Carly on "iCarly," rumors flew that McCurdy was in a feud with pop star Ariana Grande over pay parity. Grande played Cat on Nickelodeon's "Sam and Cat" and "Victorious." McCurday played Sam for five years on "iCarly," before she reprised her role on the spinoff "Sam & Cat" with actress Ariana Grande, who played Cat on Nickelodeon's comedy "Victorious."

The 22-year-old actress suggested her ex-boyfriend, NBA player Andre Drummond, was behind the leak. Though ex-boyfriend might be pushing it, the pair dated for maybe a half hour.

The Jennette McCurdy/Ariana Grande feud apparently ended after news came out that Ariana Grande's grandfather died and McCurdy tweeted condolences on July 22.

E! News reported that McCurdy took to Reddit on July 24 to ask fans not to look up to her because she doesn't want that pressure.

"I am not a role model. I don't claim to be, I don't try to be, and I don't want to be. There was a time when I tried to live up to the aggrandizing title, that pedestal of a thing," McCurdy wrote. "Maybe it wasn't so much that I was trying to live up to it. Perhaps I thought I could and I thought I was supposed to, so I gave it my best shot."

Sam & Cat was cancelled after one season. McCurdy says it may have been a part of growing up, "It's fine, I can admit it. Back in my adolescence, I was more amiable, bubbly, and on lightly humid days, maybe even flouncy. I was role model material and then some," she wrote. "Fast forward a few years, I've grown up a bit (emphasis on 'a bit'). I might not be any wiser, but I like to think I'm more honest."

Here is the full Jennette McCurdy post:

"I am not a role model.

I don't claim to be, I don't try to be, and I don't want to be.

There was a time when I tried to live up to the aggrandizing title, that pedestal of a thing. Maybe it wasn't so much that I was trying to live up to it. Perhaps I thought I could and I thought I was supposed to, so I gave it my best shot.

It's fine, I can admit it. Back in my adolescence, I was more amiable, bubbly, and on lightly humid days, maybe even flouncy. I was role model material and then some.

Fast forward a few years, I've grown up a bit (emphasis on "a bit"). I might not be any wiser, but I like to think I'm more honest.

With the growing I've done, I realize that to attempt to live up to the idea of being a role model is to set myself up for foregone failure. Sure, I've made some mistakes, but even if I hadn't, people would have found invisible ones. This world is one seemingly most keen on judgment and negativity, despite all the hearts and smiley emoticons.

To remove myself from the role model battle, the falsified standard set by the bubblegum industry, is - in my eyes - to remove myself from the counterintuitive battle of attempting to be something perfect while being glaringly aware of my imperfections.

Sure, I still love my teddy bears. I still love a heart emoji (the white heart in the pink box is my favorite) and I still have a soft spot for American Girl dolls. I still love a cute dress, a good pop song, and a vanilla-scented candle. But these things don't define me or determine that I am any kind of a role model. What defines a person as a role model is the way they live their life. And no offense, but none of you know how I live my life.

Now before you start thinking I'm some sort of derelict that leads a life of crime, let me clarify. I am proud of the way I live my life. I am proud of my choices. I am proud that no one can call me fake or say I don't stand up for myself. I am proud that my friends and family would say that I'm a good person.

But in order to be thought of as a real, true role model, I believe you have to know a person and their actions, inside and out. Calling a celebrity a role model is like calling a stranger a role model. The knowledge you have of a celebrity is no more than a caricature drawn by media tastemakers specializing in selling you an image you're dying to buy. It's good to have heroes, but you have to look for them in the right places. They say don't look for true love in a bar, well I say, don't look for role models on screens.

For those of you who do consider me a role model, I hope you don't read this and cringe. I appreciate you. I appreciate you so much! I appreciate that you believe in me, support me, and in some way, hope to live your life like me. But please, I encourage you to find role models in the people around you, the people in your everyday life, the people that are your friends and family. I encourage you to base your idea of a role model off of someone you know well enough to see purely, not in the light, cameras, and actions of Hollywood." 

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jennette mccurdy icarly star leaked naked selfies
jennette mccurdy andre drummond
jennette mccurdy ariana grande feud
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