Jennette McCurdy: 'I never wanted to be a role model for teenage girls'

Actress Jennette Mccurdy has broken her silence following the cancellation of her hit kids TV show Sam & Cat, revealing she has now left the Nickelodeon network altogether and hopes to move on with her life.
The hit iCarly and Victorious spin-off, which also featured singer Ariana Grande, was axed earlier this month (Jul14) following a stand-off between McCurdy and producers, which led to her refusing to attend this year's Nickelodeon's Kids' Choice Awards to pick up the Best TV Comedy prize.
Grande has already posted a lengthy statement about the show's
demise on Facebook, and now McCurdy has spoken out as part of a
Reddit.com fan chat on Thursday (24Jul14).
It appears she was unhappy with her role model status that landed
her in trouble with TV bosses when images of her in just her
underwear appeared online earlier this year (14).
She wrote, "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. 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."
And she clearly isn't making any apologies for the saucy images she
claims an ex-boyfriend posted online, which landed her in hot water
with Sam & Cat bosses.
She added, "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. 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...
"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."