"Children should be protected": Josh Peck addresses Drake Bell abuse revealed in "Quiet on Set"
Josh Peck has shared his thoughts on the sexual abuse allegations made by his former Nickelodeon co-star Drake Bell in Investigation Discovery's, "Quiet on Set: The Dark Side of Kids TV." The new four-part docuseries focuses on Dan Schneider — the creator of several popular Nickelodeon shows from the late '90s through the mid-2000s — and the reportedly toxic and abusive culture he created for staffers and cast members on numerous sets.
As part of "Quiet on Set," Bell, who was a cast member on Schneider's "The Amanda Show" prior to "Drake and Josh," shared that he was sexually abused by his dialogue and acting coach, Brian Peck (unrelated to Josh Peck), when he was 15 years old. Brian Peck was arrested in April of 2003 and ultimately pleaded no contest to oral copulation with a minor under 16 and performing a lewd act with a 14- or 15-year-old by a person 10 years older. At the time, Bell was only listed as John Doe — "Quiet on Set" marked the first time Bell had shared his story publicly.
On Wednesday, Bell took to social media to allay concerns over Josh Peck's ostensible silence after numerous social media users hit out at Josh Peck in the comments of a recently posted, per TMZ.
“I just want to clear something up," Bell said in a video shared on TikTok. "I’ve noticed a lot of comments on some of Josh’s TikToks and some of his posts. I just want to let you guys know that . . . processing this and going through this is a really emotional time, and a lot of it is very, very difficult. So not everything is put out to the public.
“But I just want you guys to know that [Josh] has reached out to me, and it’s been very sensitive," Bell continued. "But he has reached out to talk with me and helped me work through this and has been really, really great. So just wanted to let you guys know that and to take it a little easy on him."
On Thursday, Peck posted a statement to Instagram to echo that he had connected with Bell and offer a few remarks of his own.
"I finished the 'Quiet on Set' documentary and took a few days to process it," Josh Peck said. "I reached out to Drake privately, but want to give my support for the survivors who were brave enough to share their stories of emotional and physical abuse on Nickelodeon sets with the world.
"Children should be protected," he continued. "Reliving this publicly is incredibly difficult, but I hope it can bring healing for the victims and their families as well as necessary change to our industry."
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Along with Josh Peck, Nancy Sullivan, the actor who played Bell's mother on "Drake and Josh," also commented. "They weren't my real kids, but I'll always love them," Sullivan wrote in the caption of an Instagram post showing an image of a young Bell. "It broke my heart into a million pieces to hear just how much Drake was holding inside while we were working together. I was both devastated and proud seeing the man he's grown into sit down on camera and bravely tell his truth.
"Past abuse doesn't define us, and it has no right to rule our lives, I know that putting this burden down will free him in so many ways," she continued. "I hope memories of the joy he had on our shows will someday greatly overshadow the pain. Sending love to Drake for a deep healing and for a rich and beautiful life ahead."
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