'Skins' Star Kaya Scodelario Is Grateful for Jennette McCurdy's Book
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'Skins' Star Kaya Scodelario Is Grateful for Jennette McCurdy's Book

For those who wanted something a bit edgier than the gripping realities that teen dramas such as Degrassi had to offer, Skins was a good choice. Fans may remember the dark, alluring femme fatale Effy Stonem, played by Kaya Scodelario, who battled selective mutism, addiction and more. Behind the scenes, Scodelario was also going through a lot.

The British actress is the latest person to get her hands on Jennette McCurdy's heartbreaking memoir I'm Glad My Mom Died, and she revealed that it helped her make a breakthrough.

In 2021, multiple Skins stars have opened up about the trauma they faced on the show's set, especially when it came to filming its graphic sex scenes. April Pearson, who played Michelle Richardson on the show, said on her podcast, "There's a difference between being officially old enough and mentally old enough. I was having this conversation with my husband and I was saying I do feel like I was too young, I feel like I wasn't protected."

Scodelario, who was 14 when she was on the show, has also spoken up about the "deep rooted issues" the show has caused her in adulthood.

Her story is very similar to that of McCurdy, who detailed the exploitation and abuse suffered at the hands of "The Creator," who is suspected to be television producer Dan Schneider in the book. During her time on iCarly, McCurdy recalls the intense pressure placed upon her by her mother. The book also details the sexual and emotional abuse her mother put her through before her passing in 2013 when McCurdy was 21. Due to what she went through, the actress refused to participate in the iCarly reboot because it reminded her of the abuse, and she only appeared in Sam & Cat alongside Ariana Grande to appease her mother.

The book was wildly popular, and McCurdy ended 2022 with a heartfelt Instagram post thanking readers for keeping the book on the New York Times Bestseller List for 20 consecutive weeks and for the many publications that included it on their year-end lists. Fans still haven't finished telling McCurdy how impactful the book was, and Scoledario is another one of them.

"Jennette you don't know me but I just wanted to say thank you so much for putting into words something I've never been able to," Scodelario said in a comment. "Thanks to you (and an amazing therapist) I now see that I had an abusive mother and was screwed by the industry. Your book made me laugh and cry in a way I've need to so badly for years. Thank you. I'm sure writing it was triggering and stressful but I hope you are aware of how many people you have helped."

Let's hope that the two can meet and give us a healthy dose of nostalgia. Here's to 2023 being all about healing!

Photo courtesy of Jenna Burke/BFA