Drake Bell says his former Drake & Josh co-star Josh Peck has “reached out” to him with support after Bell came forward with sexual abuse allegations against Nickelodeon dialogue coach Brian Peck in the new ID docuseries Quiet on Set.
In the docuseries, Bell revealed that he was the unnamed plaintiff in a 2004 case against Brian Peck, who Bell accused of sexually abusing him when he was a minor.
Brian Peck was arrested in 2003 at the age of 43 for lewd acts with a child. Bell testified at Brian Peck’s trial, but was not publicly identified as the minor whose family accused Peck of molesting him over a six-month period two years before. After pleading no contest to two charges of child sexual abuse in 2004, Peck was sentenced to 16 months in prison and made to register as a sex offender.
Josh Peck — who is not related to Brian Peck — played Josh Nichols on the Nickelodeon series Drake & Josh opposite Bell as his new stepbrother Drake Parker. The series ran from 2004 to 2007, following the teen boys’ antics as they moved in together and became part of one blended family. Josh Peck and Drake Bell had previously worked together on The Amanda Show, which aired from 1999 to 2002, during the period when Bell says the abuse took place.
Since Bell went public with the allegations against Brian Peck earlier this month, fans have been criticizing Josh Peck for not speaking out publicly in support of Bell.
“Why have you not spoken up?” one commenter wrote on Peck’s latest Instagram post from March 12, while another wrote, “You should be ashamed of yourself,” wrote another.
Update on Friday, March 22: Josh Peck released the following statement on March 21 on his Instagram account: “I finished the Quiet on Set documentary and took a few days to process it. I reached out to Drake privately, but want to give my support for the survivors who were brave enough to share their stories of emotional and physical abuse on Nickelodeon sets with the world. Children should be protected. Reliving this publicly is incredibly difficult, but I hope it can bring healing for the victims and their families as well as necessary change to our industry.”
Drake Bell Asks Fans to ‘Take It Easy’ on Josh Peck
But Bell is urging fans to “take it easy” on his former co-star.
Also Read: Drake Bell Details ‘Brutal’ Sexual Abuse Allegations Against Nickelodeon Acting Coach Brian Peck
“I just want to clear something up,” Bell said in a TikTok on Wednesday. “I’ve noticed a lot of comments on some of Josh’s TikToks and some of his posts and I just want to let you guys know that processing this and going through this is a really emotional time and a lot of it is very, very difficult, so not everything is put out to the public.”
He added: “But I just want you guys to know that he he [Josh Peck] has reached out to me, and it’s been very sensitive, but he has reached out to talk with me and help me work through this and has been really, really great. So I just wanted to let you guys know that and to take it a little easy on him.”
Bell first met Nickelodeon dialogue coach Brian Peck on the second season of Nickelodeon’s The Amanda Show, which starred Amanda Bynes, Drake Bell, and Taran Killam, among other child actors. He says the abuse began on a morning after he had spent the night at Peck’s house — a common occurrence on nights before Bell would have auditions in Los Angeles, since he and his mother lived farther out from the city in Orange County.
“I was sleeping on the couch where I would usually sleep. I woke up to him — I opened my eyes, I woke up and he was sexually assaulting me. I froze and was in complete shock and had no idea what to do or how to react, and I have no idea how to get out of this situation,” Bell says in the doc.
He says Bell misled his mother to earn her trust.
“Any time I would have an audition or any time I needed to work on dialogue or anything, I somehow ended up back at Brian’s house and it just got worse and worse and worse and worse. I was just trapped. I had no way out,” Bell added. “The abuse was extensive and it got pretty brutal. I don’t know how to elaborate on that on camera, really… Why don’t you think of the worst stuff that someone could do to somebody as a sexual assault, and then I’ll answer your question. I don’t know how else to put it.”
Reps for Brian Peck did not respond to MovieMaker’s request for comment.
A spokesperson for Nickelodeon gave the following statement:
“Though we cannot corroborate or negate allegations of behaviors from productions decades ago, Nickelodeon as a matter of policy investigates all formal complaints as part of our commitment to fostering a safe and professional workplace environment free of harassment or other kinds of inappropriate conduct. Our highest priorities are the well-being and best interests not just of our employees, casts and crew, but of all children, and we have adopted numerous safeguards over the years to help ensure we are living up to our own high standards and the expectations of our audience.”
Regarding Bell, the spokesperson added:
“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.”
Main Image: Drake Bell and Josh Peck in 2014. Shutterstock
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