Drake Bell sat down for his first interview since alleging he was the victim of ‘unspeakable’ and ‘brutal’ childhood sexual abuse on a Nickelodeon set.
The former child star, 37, said he checked himself into rehab shortly after revealing the abuse claims to producers of HBO’s Quiet On Set: The Dark Side Of Kids TV during Friday’s appearance on The Sarah Fraser Show podcast.
‘I just felt really comfortable in that interview, but I was going through so much in my personal life and after that interview I ended up checking myself into rehab,’ he explained of his initial meeting with the documentary team.
‘Once I got out, I thought to myself, ‘Maybe this is a good time to reach back out to them and say hey, I’m not 100% yet, let’s talk some more, but I’m getting closer to feeling comfortable with finally sharing my story,” he continued.
The actor/musician — who claimed he was abused as a teen by Nickelodeon dialogue coach Brian Peck — also slammed Nickelodeon’s response to the scandalous documentary.
Drake Bell sat down for his first interview since alleging he was the victim of ‘unspeakable’ and ‘brutal’ childhood sexual abuse on a Nickelodeon set; pictured in 2019
The former child star, 37, said he checked himself into rehab shortly after revealing the abuse claims to producers of HBO’s Quiet On Set: The Dark Side Of Kids TV during Friday’s appearance on The Sarah Fraser Show podcast; pictured 2004
‘There’s a very well-tailored response saying, ‘Learning about his trauma,’ because they couldn’t say that they didn’t know about this or what had happened, or anything,’ Bell said.
‘So I think that was a really well-tailored response by probably some big attorney in Hollywood.’
Following the debut of Quiet On Set, Nickelodeon issued the following statement: ‘Now that Drake Bell has disclosed his identity as the plaintiff in the 2004 case, we are dismayed and saddened to learn of the trauma he has endured, and we commend and support the strength required to come forward.’
During Friday’s podcast appearance, Bell fired back: ‘I find it pretty empty, their responses, because, I mean, they still show our shows, they still put our shows on.’
He added: ‘And I have to pay for my own therapy, I have to figure out what — I mean if there was anything, if there was any truth behind them actually caring, there would be something more than quotes on a page by obviously a legal representative telling them exactly how to tailor a response.’
Bell mentioned turning down a prior documentary proposal from another organization and expressed surprise at their hostile reaction.
‘[Another documentary] requested my involvement, and when I declined, the response I got was unbelievable,’ he began. ‘In the email, they said that people like me were the problem, and this is why things aren’t gonna change in the industry because people like you won’t speak out and won’t come forward.
‘It was just all this shaming of me not wanting to be a part of their documentary. So I’ve always been cautious and on-edge whenever approached to talk about such a sensitive topic.’
The actor/musician also slammed Nickelodeon’s response to the scandalous documentary; seen in 2019
‘There’s a very well-tailored response saying, ‘Learning about his trauma,’ because they couldn’t say that they didn’t know about this or what had happened, or anything,’ Bell said
Bell mentioned turning down a prior documentary proposal from another organization and expressed surprise at their hostile reaction; pictured in 2004
The star also explained why he involved his father, Joe Bell, in the making of Quiet On Set.
‘I’m sure that my dad puts a lot of blame on himself, you know? And I thought that this might be an opportunity for him to realize that, you know, that it’s one person’s fault.’
While appearing on Quiet On Set: The Dark Side Of Kids TV, Bell described Peck’s abuse of him, which reportedly began when he was 15 and working on The Amanda Show, as ‘the worst stuff somebody could do to a person.’
He explained that his father had hired Peck, now 63, who was a dialogue coach at Nickelodeon, to coach his young son after his career began to take off.
But immediately, he said the coach started integrating himself into his life beyond just helping him on set – attending the then-aspiring singer’s concerts and hosting his birthday parties.
He claimed the sexual abuse began during a casting trip that he was on with Brian at age 15, and only got ‘worse and worse and worse’ after that.
He described it as ‘extensive,’ and recalled feeling ‘trapped’ – admitting that he now ‘often looks back at that time and wonders how in the world he survived.’
‘Brian and I became really close because we had a lot of the same interests, which looking back I think was probably a little calculated,’ he shared.
‘I’m sure that my dad puts a lot of blame on himself, you know? And I thought that this might be an opportunity for him to realize that it’s one person’s fault,’ he said; seen in 2019
While appearing on Quiet On Set: The Dark Side Of Kids TV, Bell described Peck’s abuse of him, which reportedly began when he was 15 and working on The Amanda Show, as ‘the worst stuff somebody could do to a person’
Drake’s father Joe told viewers that he felt like something was amiss pretty early on, but that Brian drove a wedge between him and his son.
‘I was always within eye distance of them… I was very attentive,’ Joe said.
‘Unfortunately, I started seeing Brian start to just hang around Drake too much and it didn’t sit well with me.’
Joe said that Brian would walk into Drake’s dressing room and ‘put his arm around his waist, put his hand up on his shoulder, or kind of run it down his arm.’
‘This would happen routinely,’ he added.
While at first Drake just thought Brian was ‘his friend,’ he said ‘everything changed’ one day during a casting trip.
Drake, who was 15 years old at the time, explained that he was sleeping on a couch when he suddenly awoke to Brian ‘sexually assaulting him.’
‘I froze and was in complete shock and had no idea what to do or how to react,’ he recalled in the doc.
Bell explained that his father had hired Peck, now 63, who was a dialogue coach at Nickelodeon, to coach his young son after his career began to take off
Josh Peck (L) has broken his silence on former co-star Drake Bell’s (R) sexual assault aged 15 after the star detailed the abuse in docuseries Quiet On Set: The Dark Side Of Kids TV
‘I was just trapped and I had no way out,’ shared the former Drake & Josh star. ‘The abuse was extensive and it got pretty brutal.
‘I really don’t know how to elaborate about that on camera. Think of the worst stuff that someone can do to somebody as a sexual assault and that will answer your question. I don’t know how else to put it.’
Drake was a supporting actor on The Amanda Show from 1999 to 2002, and Brian worked with the actors during that period.
The actor went on to become a major star after he appeared in Drake & Josh from 2004 until 2007.
In August of 2003, the vocal coach was arrested and charged with nearly a dozen counts related allegations that he had sexually abused a then-unnamed minor.
He eventually pleaded no contest to performing a lewd act with a 14- or 15-year-old and to oral copulation with a minor under 16.
He received a 16-month prison sentence after his conviction, and in October 2004, he was ordered to register as a sex offender.
Bell described Brian Peck’s abuse of him as ‘the worst stuff somebody could do to a person’ while appearing on Quiet On Set: The Dark Side Of Kids TV; Peck seen above in 2012
Peck continued to have minor acting credits and worked as a dialogue coach throughout the 2000s and 2010s. His last credited acting appearance was in 2018; seen in 2014 in LA
In 2015, however, DailyMail.com revealed that Brian was still working on Disney show and a high school–set horror film – despite his conviction.
He was only prohibited from direct contact with children, which allowed him to still be hired in other capacities, even on projects significantly featuring children and teens.
It’s unclear if the people hiring Brian knew that he was a convicted sex offender, though his IMDb page lists his criminal conviction.
He has continued to have minor acting credits and worked as a dialogue coach throughout the 2000s and 2010s. His last credited acting appearance was in 2018, according to IMDb.
