Drake Bell has forgiven Rider Strong for backing abuser Brian Peck in court
Drake Bell has reportedly forgiven Rider Strong after the latter had written a letter of support for former Nickelodeon dialogue coach, Brian Peck.
Peck, who had been accused by the former “Drake and Josh” star of sexual abuse, revealed during his 2003 trial that Strong, 44, and nearly 40 others had written character statements to the judge.
“I just had the most amazing conversation with @RiderStrong we are all healing together. I have nothing but love and forgiveness for him,” Bell, 37, posted on X (formerly) Twitter.
The post by the former child star comes after Investigation Discovery aired a docuseries called “Quiet on Set: The Dark Side of Kids TV” in which several former child stars, including Bell, detailed how former studio head Dan Schnieder had promoted a toxic work environment by hiring Peck, 63, and several others.
Strong had been previously called out by the actor who said that no one had apologized to him after the docuseries aired on Max.
“I haven’t gotten an apology, or a sorry, from anybody that had written letters or was involved in supporting him at all,” Bell said in an interview on “The Sarah Fraser Show” podcast in March adding that some of the letters had also come from people he had worked with.
“I had no idea that for four years, I was working alongside people who had supported him, and probably in the back of their mind were thinking of me in a certain way, and I thought they were my friends,” Bell said.
In February, Strong and his “Boy Meets World” co-star Will Friedle recalled the painful abuse they suffered at the hands of Peck.
Joined by Danielle Fishel and a family therapist on their podcast “Pod Meets World,” Friedle, 47, noted that he befriended Peck and said it “was the type of thing where the person he presented was this great, funny guy who was really good at his job and you wanted to hang out with.”
Fishel, 42, said that she wasn’t close to Peck but argued that his open homosexuality was most likely the reason why his bad behavior went unnoticed in the late ’90s.
“The other adults on set who maybe could have or should have said, ‘Why are you guys going to lunch with this guy?’ ‘Why is this guy going to Rider’s house for a party?’ ” she said.
“There was probably a part of them that didn’t say it because they were afraid it was going to be taken as homophobia, instead of, ‘This is a boundary, gay or not. This is a boundary about adults and kids,’ ” she added.
Fishel added that while none of the younger cast members cared about Peck’s sexuality, he appeared to take an interest in male stars.
“And so, I also think that’s important in the story of Rider and Will, about why he befriended the two of you so closely,” Fishel expounded. “And I did have lunch with him a couple of times, but only because someone else would invite me … He didn’t really make an effort to get to know me. He didn’t ingratiate himself as much into my life. I never heard from him again after the show ended.”
In 2004, Peck was charged with eight counts of sexual abuse and spent 16 months in prison and was forced to register as a sex offender.
