The cast of Paramount+‘s iCarly revival has come out against online racist attacks after one of the series’ actresses reveals being a target.
A Black Lady Sketch Show star Laci Mosley, who will play Carly’s (Miranda Cosgrove) friends in the series, has released an online video talking about the attacks she has received for playing Laci, who fans have surmised is replacing Jennette McCurdy’s character (and Carly’s best friend) Sam from the original series.
“I’m not replacing Sam. Jennette McCurdy is a very wonderful person. I’ve never met her, but it’s no shade. Get the f— out of my comments with this f—ing racist a— bulls—. You will be blocked and you will never see me again, honey,” she said in the video.
The iCarly team, including Nickelodeon’s parent company, ViacomCBS, have lent their voices to quelling the racism, releasing a statement asking fans to not cyberbully any of the actors.
“iCarly are proud to be racially diverse, not only in our crew but our cast. We have recently seen reports of racism towards a member of our iCarly cast, and it is not acceptable,” the series posted online. “Please think about your words, and take time to understand how what you say can impact other people.”
iCarly also put on their Twitter page a statement about upholding anti-bullying and no tolerance of racism.
“Our company is proud to uphold the values of inclusivity and collaboration, where we work to embrace new and diverse voices, act with care and work together,” stated the series. “The upcoming Paramount+ iCarly series is one of many examples of this commitment, and we support our entire cast and crew and stand against all instances of hate and racism.”
We stand with the iCarly cast. pic.twitter.com/Dm75KILClJ
— iCarly (@iCarly) May 17, 2021
The amount of hatred shown towards Mosley and the cast in general is largely nonsensical since McCurdy has publicly stated how she wouldn’t return to acting and specifically talked about her time with iCarly as a source of embarrassment for her.
“My mom put me in [acting] when I was six and by sort of age, I guess, ten or 11, I was the main financial support for my family,” she said in an episode of the Empty Inside podcast, as reported by E! Online. “My family didn’t have a lot of money, and this was the way out, which I actually think was helpful in driving me to some degree of success.”
“…My experience with acting is, I’m so ashamed of parts I’ve done in the past,” she continued. “I resent my career in a lot of ways. I feel so unfulfilled by the roles that I played and felt like it was the most cheesy, embarrassing [thing]. I did the shows that I was on from like 13 to 21, and by 15, I was already embarrassed.”
