Miranda Cosgrove slams racist slurs for iCarly costar Laci Mosley
American actress-singer Miranda Cosgrove, along with other iCarly cast members, supported her fellow star Laci Mosley, who was subjected to racially charged slurs online for her role in the Paramount+ revival series.
Paramount+ is reviving iCarly, the Nickelodeon show that ran from 2007 to 2012. Laci Mosley, a Black actress has joined the star cast to play Harper, the best friend to Carly played by Miranda Cosgrove.
Taking to social media over the weekend of May 14, Laci Mosley said she is being subjected to cyberbullying by people who believe she’s trying to take the place of Jennette McCurdy’s Sam Puckett.
“Hi, I’m playing Harper on iCarly. I’m not replacing Sam. Jennette McCurdy is a wonderful person. I’ve never met her but it’s no shade,” she said in an Instagram Story that has since expired.
“Please stop calling me (the N-word) and being racist,” she captioned the video and asked the haters to “stay out of her comments” with racist remarks.
Mosely also shared some screenshots of hateful comments in another Instagram Story post.
“I’ve been deleting and blocking people, but I can’t be bothered anymore,” she captioned a screenshot. “I feel silly being upset by racism cause it’s just how this terrible planet is, but sometimes it still catches me off guard.”
In another post on May 17, Laci Mosley wore her heart on her sleeves, sharing how she feels about the hateful messages.
“I love being Black. I hate how Black people are treated on this planet,” she wrote. “I took this role on iCarly because the room is diverse…our show runner @ali_schouten is so incredibly kind and caring and the cast is talented and some of the best people I’ve ever met. I was shocked when a celebration of all the hard work we’ve put into making this reboot was overshadowed by the most racism I’ve ever experienced in my life over the course of 72 hours.”
However, Mosley refuses to lose her joy and calm with people’s negativity.
“I felt silly being so upset because I’ve been in this little brown body my entire life and racism isn’t new but it still hurts,” she said. “Racism kills. I can’t beg you to love me or yourselves enough to be kind to people but I can block you and protect my peace… Black is beautiful and no amount of slurs or vitriol you dump online will change that.”
Miranda Cosgrove, along with the other iCarly cast members, supported Laci Mosley after they heard about the online attacks.
Taking to her Instagram Story on May 16, Cosgrove released a statement on behalf of the streaming service to show support to her and slam the trolls.
“iCarly are proud to be racially diverse, not only in our crew but our cast,” the statement read. “We have recently seen reports of racism towards a member of our iCarly cast, and it is not acceptable. Please think about your words, and take time to understand how what you say can impact other people. Thank you.”
The next day, iCarly and Paramount+ issued a joint statement on Instagram.
“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,” the statement read. “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.”
iCarly will premiere on June 17 exclusively on Paramount+.