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Drake Bell Speaks Out About Sexual Assault During His Time at Nickelodeon: ‘It Was Pretty Brutal’
Drake Bell spoke out about the sexual assault he experienced during his time as a teen star on Nickelodeon’s Drake & Josh and said that he was abused at the hands of his dialogue coach and eventually manager, Brian Peck.
“You know anytime I had an audition or anytime I needed to work on dialogue or anything, I somehow ended up back at Brian’s house,” Bell, 37, said in the upcoming documentary Quiet on Set: The Dark Side of Kids TV, per People on Wednesday, March 13. “And it just got worse, and worse, and worse, and worse, and I was just trapped. I had no way out. The abuse was extensive and it got pretty brutal.”
Bell added that he and Peck, 63, “became really close because we had a lot of the same interests, which looking back, I think that was probably a little calculated.” The Nickelodeon star, who was only 15 at the time, met Peck on the first day of shooting The Amanda Show season 2. Bell said that Peck befriended him and often invited him to his house for acting lessons.
However, Bell’s father, Joe Bell, became concerned with all of the time his son was spending with Peck, but said that when he mentioned it to others, they “ostracized” him so he “backed off.” Eventually, Peck became Bell’s manager and began accompanying him on auditions in Los Angeles. Because L.A. was at least an hour from Bell’s house, those trips often ended in Bell spending the night at Peck’s home.
“I was sleeping on the couch where I usually sleep and I woke up to him… I opened my eyes and I woke up and he was…he was sexually assaulting me,” Bell said in Quiet on Set. “And I froze, and was in complete shock and had no idea what to do or how to react.”
“I often look back at that time and wonder how in the world I survived,” he continued. “I remember all of the abusive events, but everything outside of that is very blurry to me, which is a bummer because I experienced a lot of great things in my life and my career during this time. But it was so overshadowed and ruined by what I was dealing with on the inside that it made it really hard for me.”
In response to Drake’s allegations, Nickelodeon told In Touch in a 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.” As for the reported alarming behavior at the center of Quiet on Set, the network further said, “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.”
In 2004, Peck pleaded no contest to the charges of oral copulation with a minor under 16 and performing a lewd act with a 14- or 15-year-old. At the time, Bell’s name wasn’t revealed in the case. Peck was forced to register as a sexual offender and spent 16 months in jail.
Quiet on the Set: The Dark Side of Kids TV premieres on Sunday, March 17, at 9:00 p.m. ET on ID.
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