Former Nickelodeon star Jennette McCurdy says late mom 'was the person that introduced me to anorexia'

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Former Nickelodeon star Jennette McCurdy claimed her mom "introduced" her to anorexia while making an appearance on the podcast "Mayim Bialik's Breakdown."

"My mom was the person that introduced me to anorexia, actually," McCurdy, 29, shared Tuesday.

McCurdy's mom passed away in 2013 after a 17-year battle against cancer, according to HuffPost.

"I had a lump in my breast, which was my boob developing, and I was scared that it was cancer because of my mom's cancer. I thought, 'Well, she got cancer, now I've got cancer, I've got breast cancer at 11. Like, I'm doomed.'"

"And I told her and she said, 'You don't have breast cancer, you're just developing boobs,'" the former Nickelodeon actress continued. "I said, 'Well, how can I not develop boobs? I don't want those. And she said, 'Well, there's a thing called calorie restriction.' Those were her exact words. She did not say the word 'anorexia.'"

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Jenette McCurdy claimed she was introduced to her eating disorders by her mother. McCurdy explained her coping mechanisms and struggles in a recent appearance on the podcast 'Mayim Bialik's Breakdown.' 

McCurdy went on to say she wouldn't hear the word "anorexia" until a year later.

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"I did not hear the word 'anorexia' until... I overheard a doctor talking with my mom a year later when I had lost X amount of weight and was rail-thin, and it sounded like a dinosaur to me," McCurdy continued.

"I remember that distinctly, like: 'Hmm, somebody's talking about me like I'm a dinosaur.' But it was her talking to my mom about my eating disorder, which my mom denied in order for her to be able to support it."

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McCurdy originally thought her mom was "looking out" for her.

"At the time I just thought, 'Mom's looking out for me, Mom wants me to not have breasts so that I don't have breast cancer, Mom wants me to look young so I can book more roles so I can support the family and do the thing,'" she said during the podcast appearance.

In a 2019 op-ed for HuffPost, McCurdy noted that she doesn't "hold this against my mom at all." "I don’t think she could help it," she penned before alleging: "Mom had been hospitalized for anorexia on several occasions when she was a teenager and I’m not convinced she ever overcame her disordered eating."

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McCurdy rose to fame starring in Nickelodeon's "iCarly." She went on to grab roles in films such as "Breaking Dawn," "Best Player" and "Minor Details" along with spin-offs of the "iCarly" series.