In his first interview since the release of the documentary series ‘Quiet on Set’, Bell talks about being embarrassed about not being in a documentary, not listening to anyone who wrote letters of support for his attacker, and his very different experience with showrunner Dan Schneider.
Drake Bell is feeling a lot of love and support from other Nickelodeon stars and their fans, but there are 41 people he hasn’t heard from. O Drake and Josh the star talks about this and more in her first interview since revealing she suffered child sexual abuse in ID’s Silence on the set: the dark side of children’s TV.
While much of the bombshell docuseries centered on Dan Schneider’s allegedly abusive behavior, the main headlines came from Bell’s surprising revelation that he was the child star who came forward with sexual abuse allegations against Nickelodeon dialogue coach Brian Peck.
After the two-night event shook the world, Bell sat down to Sarah Fraser’s Gift podcast, where he opened up about the anxieties he had before he even agreed to take part in the docu-series and his thoughts on what he saw in it and what has – or hasn’t – happened since.
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“I have not received any apologies or apologies from anyone who wrote letters or was concerned about supporting him in any way,” Bell said, per Deadlineof the 41 people who wrote letters of support for Brian Peck at his sentencing.
Some of these names were revealed in the documentary series, including Boy meets the world stars Stout Knight It is Will Friedle, James Marsden, Saturday Night Residence alum Taran KillamIt is Growing pains Joanna Kerns and the late Alan Thicke.
Some of these people also spoke publicly about their letters, with the BMW stars saying they were misinformed about the case. X-Machos producer Tom DeSanto also reported People his letter was “based largely on incomplete information.”
“To sit there and say, ‘Sure, I did it, but that’s not how they portray it’ — I mean, I can’t think of framing it in a way that 41 people, adults, would say, ‘Oh, well, that’s totally clever. , the way you’re telling me, that’s smart,’” Bell said on the podcast.
In his statement, DeSanto publicly apologized to Bell, adding that if he had been “fully informed of all allegations, my support would have been completely withheld.” Kerns echoed this sentiment, also saying that he “in no way would have written the letter” if he had known the whole story.
Bell welcomed DeSanto’s apology, noting, “That can be a very, very strong factor for everyone involved, and that’s what happens when people like Brian do what they do — it creates a ripple effect. And so it was really nice of him to do that.
I find (Nickelodeon’s) responses quite hollow, because, I mean, they still host our shows, they still host our shows. And I have to pay for my own medicine.
One person Bell heard about was her co-star Josh Peck (no relation to Brian Peck). Bell and Peck have maintained their friendship over the years, which is why fans found Peck’s public silence so disconcerting after the docuseries aired. But Bell took to his own social media to ensure Peck had contacted him privately.
When talking about why he finally decided to go public with his story despite everything in those years, Bell admitted that there was a lot of reluctance on his part and that it still took a lot of time, and a visit to rehab, to completely resolve it he was ready for.
Part of his reluctance was due to an unpleasant experience he had with a previous documentary that required him to be involved. Although he did not identify the issue at hand, he did mention that he was brutally embarrassed for refusing to participate.
“The response I got was unbelievable,” Bell said on the podcast, per The Hollywood Reporter. “In the email, they said that people like me were the problem and therefore things won’t change in the industry because people like you don’t communicate and advance.”
“It was just an embarrassment of mine that I wasn’t eager to be a part of their documentary,” he continued. “So I was always cautious and always nervous when approached to talk about such a sensitive subject.”
He mentioned that things soon felt completely different with the Silence on set group after meeting one of its administrators, Emma Schwartz. “She was very gentle and we kind of became friends,” he said. “I could report that she was coming from a real place when we began our back and forth.”
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Bell didn’t feel like she was trying to convince him to participate, so he invited her to Los Angeles to at least meet and talk. But although that meeting went well and left him even more relaxed, Bell also knew that there was a lot going on in his personal life at that moment.
Specifically, the actor was facing child endangerment situations as of 2021, with the media misreporting the results of this case as he had been registered as a sex offender. He received probation and community service, but was never registered as a sex offender.
And so, Bell opted to enter rehab, where he says he experienced a lot of group trauma therapy and one-on-one sessions that really helped him “unearth all these things that I hadn’t faced head-on, or if I had tried, it would have been really painful.” .”
Ultimately, through this and continued communication with the documentary team, Bell decided to tell his story. He also invited his father, who had been driven out of his life all those years ago through his abuser’s manipulations, to take part as well, hoping it would be “cathartic and helpful” for him.
Nickelodeon’s official response was also part of the story, although Bell wasn’t too impressed with it. Regarding its response to Bell’s story, Nickelodeon said in a statement: “Now that Drake Bell has revealed his identity as the plaintiff in the 2004 case, we are dismayed and saddened to learn of the trauma he suffered, and we commend and help the much-needed energy to return to the front.
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“While we cannot corroborate or deny allegations of behavior from productions many years ago, Nickelodeon, for the sake of coverage, investigates all formal complaints as part of our commitment to promoting a safe and professional office environment free from harassment or different types of inappropriate conduct.”
Bell said: “It was a very well-tailored response saying, ‘Learning about his trauma,’ because they couldn’t say they didn’t know about it or what had happened, or anything like that. So I feel like it was an extremely well-tailored response, probably from some big Hollywood lawyer.”
“I find their responses quite hollow, because, I mean, they still present our shows, they still present them. And I have to pay for my own treatment,” he added.
“If there was something, if there was some fact behind them actually caring, there would be something greater than quotes on a page from an authoritative advisor telling them exactly how to personalize a response.”
Bell also returned to Schneider, although he had a very different experience than most of the other young stars. The docuseries released allegations of toxic and abusive behavior on set and inappropriate sexual content on its shows, which Schneider responded to after it aired.
“When I watched the show, I could see the hurt in some people’s eyes, and it made me feel terrible, regretful and regretful,” Schneider said in a video statement, per The Hollywood Reporter. “I wish I could go back, especially to the early years of my career, and bring the growth and experience that I have now and just do a better job and in no way, ever feel like it was okay to be an a-hole to anyone, Never.
“Watching it the previous two nights was really difficult — dealing with my past behaviors, some of which are embarrassing and some of which I regret,” Schneider said. “I definitely owe some people a pretty big apology.”
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One person who isn’t looking for excuses, however, is Bell, who said the current breeder was very supportive after his experiences. “When Drake and I talked and he told me what happened, I was more devastated by it than anything that had ever happened to me in my career so far. And I told him, ‘I’m here to help you,’” Schneider said in his video.
Bell echoed this, saying it was Schneider who reached out to him after the Brian Peck trial. Bell did not reveal his identity, but Schneider suspected it was him, and Bell confided in him the truth.
“He knew what I was probably going through, but I can tell in his voice that he took a lot — there was a lot of hurt and anger, but he was very gentle with me, and that was my experience,” Bell said. .
At the same time, while acknowledging that her experience with Schneider was very different from that of many of her young colleagues, Bell said she would never want to diminish their voices or stories.
“I can only react and respond to what I have actually experienced and also not say anything that takes away from anyone else the comfort, energy and bravado to tell their story and share their experiences,” Bell said.
You can take a look at Bell’s full interview about Silence on the set: the dark side of children’s TV below.
