Drake Bell admitted that he’s been talking to his on-screen brother Josh Peck since coming forward with his experience of being sexually assaulted by dialogue coach Brian Peck (no relation) as a child. Drake, 37, spoke in defense of Josh, 37, in the much-anticipated fifth episode of the docuseries Quiet on Set, which aired on Sunday, April 7.
Since the documentary aired, a few people online have come after Josh since the documentary came out, and Drake defended him. “I know what it’s like to have the internet attack you for really nothing,” he said in the episode. “This is a really difficult thing to process.”
Drake further explained that Josh had reached out to him privately, and they’d been speaking since the bombshell documentary was released. He also showed love to his on-screen brother. “At the end of the day, we have such a close connection and unique bond that’s so rare in this industry that, I don’t know, it’s really special, and he’s a really great person,” he said.
Days after the documentary had aired and Drake shared the allegations, The Amanda Show alum told his followers to “take it a little easy” on Josh, explaining that his co-star had reached out to him privately. “I just want to let you guys know that this is really — 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,” he said. “But he has reached out to talk with me and help me work through this.”
Josh later shared his own statement on Instagram, letting people know that he supported everyone who had come forward. “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. 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,” he said.