Drake Bell mentioned he discovered Nickelodeon’s response to Quiet on Set: The Darkish Facet of Youngsters TV “fairly empty” in his first interview following the airing of the bombshell docuseries. In Quiet on Set, Bell alleged he was sexually abused by All That and The Amanda Present dialogue coach Brian Peck starting when he was age 15 whereas he working as a baby star on the community.
Bell spoke about his allegations and its aftermath in a brand new episode of The Sarah Fraser Present podcast as Selection reviews. Bell acquired his break as a sequence common on Nickelodeon’s The Amanda Present in 1999 earlier than starring in Drake & Josh alongside Josh Peck (no relation to Brian Peck) in 2004.
“There’s a really well-tailored response saying, ‘Studying about his trauma,’ as a result of they couldn’t say that they didn’t find out about this or what had occurred, or something,” Bell mentioned on the podcast. “So I feel that was a very well-tailored response by in all probability some large legal professional in Hollywood.”
“I discover it fairly empty, their responses, as a result of, I imply, they nonetheless present our exhibits, they nonetheless put our exhibits on,” he continued. “And I’ve to pay for my very own remedy, I’ve to determine what — I imply if there was something, if there was any reality behind them truly caring, there could be one thing greater than quotes on a web page by clearly a authorized consultant telling them precisely find out how to tailor a response.”
Shortly earlier than the docuseries aired, a Nickelodeon spokesperson instructed Rolling Stone in an announcement: “Now that Drake Bell has disclosed his identification because the plaintiff within the 2004 case, we’re dismayed and saddened to study of the trauma he has endured, and we commend and help the energy required to return ahead.”
The community spokesperson added: “Although we can’t corroborate or negate allegations of behaviors from productions many years in the past, Nickelodeon as a matter of coverage investigates all formal complaints as a part of our dedication to fostering a protected {and professional} office setting freed from harassment or other forms of inappropriate conduct. Our highest priorities are the well-being and finest pursuits not simply of our workers, casts, and crew, however of all kids, and we’ve adopted quite a few safeguards through the years to assist guarantee we live as much as our personal excessive requirements and the expectations of our viewers.”
Bell mentioned in the course of the podcast that he participated within the docuseries as a result of he discovered one of many administrators, Emma Schwartz to be “very delicate” and he “may inform she was coming from a real place” as they interacted through e mail. Following assembly Schwartz in particular person, Bell mentioned he went to rehab.
In an interview with Rolling Stone, Quiet on Set co-director Schwartz spoke about working with Bell on the sequence. “He’s instructed me that he seems like a sure weight has lifted,” Schwartz mentioned. “He’s been holding this again for thus lengthy and that hopefully in sharing it, he can proceed to heal and to let folks know that sharing is just not as scary because it may appear. It will probably, in reality, make it easier to stroll ahead.”
“I simply felt actually comfy in that interview [with Schwartz], however I used to be going by means of a lot in my private life and after that interview I ended up checking myself into rehab,” Bell mentioned within the podcast interview. “We have been going by means of loads of trauma remedy, loads of group remedy, loads of one-on-one remedy — your whole day was full of working by means of and processing this with a transparent thoughts, and unearthing all of these items that I hadn’t confronted head-on, or if I had tried to, it was too painful. And so by means of that course of, as soon as I acquired out, I believed to myself, ‘Perhaps this can be a good time to achieve again out to them and say, hey, I’m not one hundred pc but, let’s discuss some extra, however I’m getting nearer to feeling comfy with lastly sharing my story.’”
Brian Peck was arrested on 11 fees of kid sexual abuse in 2003, and in 2004 pleaded no contest to 2 fees of kid sexual abuse. He was sentenced to 16 months in jail and was ordered to register as a intercourse offender. The identification of the accuser was not recognized on the time, but it surely has since been revealed as Bell.
