Update: 03/13/2024, 11:15 a.m. Nickelodeon released a statement to Hollywood Life about Drake Bell’s recent revelations.
“Now that Drake Bell has disclosed his identity as the plaintiff in the 2004 case, we are dismayed and saddened to learn of the trauma he has endured, and we commend and support the strength required to come forward,” Nickelodeon said in its statement.
Regarding Brian Peck’s past, Nickelodeon released a separate statement, which read, “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. 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.”
Original story:
Drake Bell is opening up about the “brutal” sexual abuse he faced while working at Nickelodeon in the upcoming docuseries, Quiet on Set: The Dark Side of Kids TV. The 37-year-old musician detailed his experience working with former dialogue coach Brian Peck.
“Brian and I became really close because we had a lot of the same interests, which looking back, I think that was probably a little calculated,” Bell said in one scene of the docuseries, according to PEOPLE. “I often look back at that time and wonder how in the world I survived. I remember all of the abusive events, but everything outside of that is very blurry to me, which is a bummer because I experienced a lot of great things in my life and my career during this time. But it was so overshadowed and ruined by what I was dealing with on the inside that it made it really hard for me.”
Bell then recalled a horrifying incident when Peck molested him.
“I was sleeping on the couch where I usually sleep and I woke up to him — I opened my eyes and I woke up and he was … he was sexually assaulting me,” Bell said, referring to the time when he was 15 years old. “And I froze, and was in complete shock and had no idea what to do or how to react.”
Bell landed his first acting gig on the kids’ network with The Amanda Show, where he met Peck. At the time, Peck would invite Bell over to his house for acting lessons. Bell’s father, Joe Bell, expressed his concern about Peck being around his son, but Joe claimed he was “ostracized” as a result. Peck eventually was hired as Bell’s manager.
In the docuseries, the “I Found a Way” artist also recalled how he got “trapped” by Peck over the years.
“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,” Bell explained. “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.”
In 2004, 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, according to PEOPLE. Bell was not identified as the victim at the time the case went public. Peck then spent 16 months in prison and was ordered to register as a sex offender.
Quiet on Set: The Dark Side of Kids TV airs in two parts on Sunday, March 17, and Monday, March 18, on Investigation Discovery from 9 p.m. to 11 p.m. ET.
If you or anyone you know has been sexually abused, call the National Sexual Assault Hotline at 1-800-656-HOPE (4673). A trained staff member will provide confidential, judgment-free support as well as local resources to assist in healing, recovering and more.