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Drake Bell Reacts to ‘Quiet on Set’ Response After Revealing Sexual Abuse: ‘Seeing a Change’
Drake Bell reflected on the response he’s received since coming forward with his experience of sexual abuse in the docuseries Quiet on Set: The Dark Side of Kids TV.
“I’m still kind of reeling with the idea of this all being my soul, kind of being bared to the world,” Drake, 37, said while appearing on an Emmys For Your Consideration (FYC) panel for the docuseries on Tuesday, April 9. “But you see such good coming out of … people are approaching me at the airport … telling me how they have the bravery to come out and speak, and how they’re trying to go to their legislatures and get things changed and seeing people online. So you’re seeing a change.”
The Drake & Josh alum added that it was strange to discuss such a personal topic with the Quiet on Set team. “It was the first time that I’ve really spoken about this to a stranger,” he said. “It’s not my family or people I worked with who were close to me, who supported me throughout the years.”
In the docuseries, Drake opened up about being sexually assaulted when he was underage by his former dialogue coach Brian Peck when they both worked at Nickelodeon.
After Drake came forward with the allegations, Brian, 63, pleaded no contest to the charges of oral copulation with a minor under 16 and performing a lewd act with someone that was 14- or 15-year-old. Brian was ultimately sentenced to serve 16 months in jail and was forced to register as a sexual offender. Meanwhile, Drake wasn’t publicly revealed as his victim until the docuseries premiered in March.
During the panel, Drake admitted his “biggest concern” was the lack of media coverage surrounding Brian’s arrest in 2004. “It’s just nowhere,” he said. “I was so flexed by that, and I’m like, this is the response that I feel should have happened so many years ago … why we have to tell the world about this and this needs to change.”
He added that Brian went on to continue booking jobs despite the arrest. “He’s executive producing movies with children in them. He’s working on the Disney Channel, he’s moving around,” Drake pointed out. “Right after he was arrested, he left to go work on a film in Arizona.”
The “Found a Way” singer said seeing people continue to hire Brian was the “catalyst” for why he came forward with his experience in the docuseries.
If you or anyone you know has been sexually abused, call the National Sexual Assault Hotline at 1-800-656-HOPE (4673). A trained staff member will provide confidential, judgment-free support as well as local resources to assist in healing, recovering and more.
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