The daily gossip: Jennette McCurdy was allegedly offered $300,000 to not speak about experiences at Nickelodeon, Ellen Pompeo to reduce Grey's Anatomy role, and more

1. Jennette McCurdy says she turned down $300,000 to not speak about her experiences at Nickelodeon

Jennette McCurdy has "never seen any of the shows that I've been on," and after reading about her experiences making them, it's not hard to understand why. The iCarly alum is out with a memoir next week called I'm Glad My Mom Died, which explores her complicated relationship with her late mother and struggles with anxiety and eating disorders as a child actress. The book, according to The New York Times, also describes the "embarrassments and indignities" she allegedly endured at Nickelodeon, including "being photographed in a bikini at a wardrobe fitting and being encouraged to drink alcohol by an intimidating figure she simply calls the Creator." After the iCarly spinoff Sam & Cat ended, McCurdy says she turned down a $300,000 offer from Nickelodeon to not publicly speak about her experiences there, an allegation Nick declined to comment on. "My whole childhood and adolescence were very exploited," she told the Times. "It still gives my nervous system a reaction to say it."

The New York Times

2. Ellen Pompeo to reduce her role on 'Grey's Anatomy'

Ellen Pompeo may be nearly free. The actress, who has been publicly lobbying for Grey's Anatomy to finally end, is set to have a reduced role in the upcoming season — despite, you know, playing the titular character. Pompeo will only appear in eight of about 22 episodes, though she'll still narrate them all, according to Deadline. This will give her a chance to star in a new Hulu limited series, which will be her first major TV role outside of Grey's Anatomy since the show began in 2005. "I've been trying to focus on convincing everybody that [Grey's Anatomy] should end," Pompeo told Insider last year. "​I feel like I'm the super naive one who keeps saying, 'But what's the story going to be, what story are we going to tell?' And everyone's like, 'Who cares, Ellen? It makes a gazillion dollars.'" But despite Pompeo eying an exit, the series refuses to be taken off life support, even if it may soon have to just be titled Anatomy.

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Deadline Variety

3. 'Batgirl' director learned of movie's cancellation at his wedding

Batgirl co-director Adil El Arbi's wife got a taste of "in good times and in bad" pretty early. In a stunning, unprecedented move, Warner Bros. has confirmed it won't release the Batgirl movie starring Leslie Grace, despite the fact that it was already filmed and cost $90 million to make. This decision seemed to come down to the new boss at Warner Bros. Discovery, David Zaslav, moving the company away from direct-to-HBO Max films, which Batgirl was meant to be. But the timing of the announcement was "particularly awkward" for the film's directors, Adil El Arbi and Billal Fallah, who were "in Morocco for El Arbi's wedding" when they heard the news, Deadline reported. On Wednesday, the two directors said on Instagram they're "saddened and shocked," writing that they wish fans "had the opportunity to see and embrace" the film and expressing hope that "maybe one day they will." If only DC fans knew how to pressure Warner Bros. to release something.

Deadline The Hollywood Reporter

4. Melanie Lynskey recalls being body shamed on 'Coyote Ugly'

Melanie Lynskey had a pretty ugly experience on one of her earliest film projects. The Yellowjackets star in a new Hollywood Reporter conversation recalled being body shamed while working on the 2000 movie Coyote Ugly starring Piper Perabo. Though Lynskey says she was "starving myself and as thin as I could possibly be," she describes receiving "really intense feedback" about her body because she was a size four. "That was already people putting a lot of Spanx on me in wardrobe fittings and being very disappointed when they saw me, the costume designer being like, 'Nobody told me there would be girls like you,'" she said. Lynskey, who was in her early 20s at the time, added the feedback she received was "constantly like, 'You're not beautiful'" — so she may have to resist calling a few people out by name during her inevitable Emmy acceptance speech.

The Hollywood Reporter

5. Demi Lovato appears to slam ex Wilmer Valderrama over age gap

Demi Lovato's age gap with her ex-boyfriend hasn't aged well, she appears to admit in a new song. The singer, who revealed this week she's now using she/her pronouns in addition to they/them, dated actor Wilmer Valderrama from 2010 to 2016, but their 12-year age gap was pretty controversial considering they met when Lovato was under 18. In an upcoming song titled "29," she appears to slam Valderrama over this in a fairly unsubtle fashion, referencing their ages when they met with the lyrics, "17, 29 / Oh, oh, oh, oh, oh / 17, 29." She sings, "Thought it was a teenage dream / just a fantasy / But was it yours or was it mine," and, "Fibre on the vine / too young to drink wine / Just five years of bleeders, student and a teacher / Far from innocent / what the f--k's consent? / Numbers told you not to / but that didn't stop you." Are you listening, Dane Cook?

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