Jennette McCurdy Wants Everyone To Know She's "Not a Role Model"

[JamesG]

Jennette McCurdy: "I Am Not a Role Model"
July 28, 2014
by Robyn Ross


Nickelodeon darling Jennette McCurdy wants everyone to know she is not a role a model nor does she want to be.

McCurdy, 21, practically grew up on television, first playing tomboy best friend Sam on "iCarly" from 2007 to 2012 and then reprising her role on the spin-off, "Sam & Cat", which was recently canceled.

McCurdy made headlines this past year when her scantily-clad selfies were leaked online, but the actress makes no apologies.







McCurdy recently posted a Redditt article titled 'I Am Not a Role Model':

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.

xo Jennette

http://www.tvguide.com/News/Jeanette...l-1084988.aspx

[irehtman]

Sam And Cat should be officially removed from the Teen Choice Awards 2014 lineup NOW!

[robyrob]

everyone makes mistakes - its how you react to them that makes all the difference.

and like it or not, if you are on TV you are a role model - especially if you are on a "family-friendly" show aimed at kids. If Jeannette no longer wants to be a role model she can go get some facial piercings and work at Starbucks.

[comedyfreak]

I agree with her statement, "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".

They are highly thought of, but after all they are people with flaws human capable of making mistakes. The person they play on tv is a character not a real person, plus her character wasn't squeaky clean either.

[king of comedy]

Her character may not have been squeaky clean but she wasn't likeable.