Dan Schneider on Drake Bell Sexual Abuse Amid Quiet on Set

Former Nickelodeon creator Dan Schneider opened up following Drake Bell’s sexual abuse revelations in Quiet on Set: The Dark Side of Kids TV, calling it the “darkest part” of his career.

“I did not hire Brian Peck,” Dan, 58, said in a YouTube video with former iCarly star BooG!e on Tuesday, March 19. “When Drake and I talked and he told me what had happened, I was more devastated by that than anything that ever happened in my career thus far.”

Dan went on to say that he supported Drake, 37, through the difficult time – something the Drake & Josh star confirmed during the ID docuseries. Drake opened up for the first time publicly about the sexual abuse he experienced at the hands of his former voice coach, Brian Peck, revealing that Peck had a courtroom full of support during his sentencing hearing.

“He went to court when this guy was being tried, Peck, and when Drake walked in he saw 50 people sitting on the side of the courtroom supporting Peck. A lot of them pretty famous. Of course Drake was devastated that that happened,” Dan continued in Tuesday’s video. “Even more disappointing, 41 of those people wrote letters for Peck. Character letters, praising him for who he was and asking for leniency. They knew that he was guilty. They knew he had confessed to some degree and they still did this. It’s baffling that adults would do that.”

While the Amanda Show creator claimed that he helped Drake’s mom, Robin Dodson, craft her letter to the judge, the Drake & Josh star revealed that he addressed Peck’s supporters in his message at the sentencing hearing.

“I wasn’t going to address Brian. There was no reason to. I addressed my statement to everyone in the room. I looked at all of them and I just said, ‘How dare you?’” Drake recalled in part 2 of the docuseries. “And I said, ‘You will forever have the memory of sitting in this courtroom and defending this person. And I will forever have the memory of the person you’re defending, violating me. And doing unspeakable acts and crimes. And that’s what I’ll remember.”

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Peck ultimately pleaded no contest to oral copulation with a minor under 16 and performing a lewd act with a 14- or -15-year old and was sentenced to 16 months in prison. After he was released from prison, Peck was ordered to register as a sex offender.

Despite his criminal past, he went on to work on other children’s shows, including The Suite Life of Zack and Cody.