The 37-year-old came forward for the first time in the ‘Quiet on Set: The Dark Side of Kids TV’.
Now, he is breaking his silence on how Nickelodeon has handled the allegations in the bombshell docuseries.
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Drake Bell Accuses Brian Peck Of S-xual Abuse During His Nickelodeon Days
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In 2004, Brian Peck pleaded no contest to a charge of oral copulation with a minor under 16 as well as a charge of performing a lewd act with a 14- or 15-year-old. The victim was not identified… until now.
“[Brian Peck] pretty much worked his way into every aspect of my life,” Bell said after Peck convinced Bell’s dad to step down as his manager so Peck could take over the job. “I knew that my life was going to be absolutely going to be completely different from that point on.”
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Drake Bell Comes Forward For The First Time
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“I was sleeping on the couch where I would usually sleep, and I woke up to him, I opened my eyes, I woke up, and he was s-xually assaulting me and I froze and in complete shock and had no idea what to do or how to react, and I had no idea how to get out of the situation,” Bell said in the docuseries.
Adding, “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, 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.”
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He then revealed why it took so long for him to come forward. “What am I going to call my mom and be like, ‘Hey, this just happened. Can you come pick me up? I’ll just sit here and wait.’ I had no car, I didn’t drive. I was 15 at this time,” he continued. He later admitted he was afraid of ruining his career if he made the accusations at the time.
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Drake Bell Says Nickelodeon’s Response Is ‘Pretty Empty’
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“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,” he said on The Sarah Fraser Show podcast. “So I think that was a really well-tailored response by probably some big attorney in Hollywood.”
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He went on, “I find it pretty empty, their responses, because, I mean, they still show our shows, they still put our shows on,” he continued. “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.”
Nickelodeon’s Response To Recent Allegations
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The former Nickelodeon star was referring to the network’s recent statement on the allegations, including Bell’s s-xual assault case.
“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,” Nickelodeon said in a statement.
Adding, “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.”
‘Quiet on Set: The Dark Side of Kids TV’ is streaming on MAX.