Drake Bell Learned Boy Meets World Stars Wrote Letters Of Support For His Sexual Abuser, He Shared An Update About Where He Stands With The Cast

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As a movie enthusiast who has spent countless hours binge-watching Nickelodeon shows and reminiscing about the good old days of ’90s sitcoms, I find myself both saddened and appalled by the recent revelations concerning Drake Bell and Brian Peck.

Viewers were taken aback during the 2024 TV debut of “Quiet on Set” when Drake Bell, famous for his role in the children’s comedy series “Drake & Josh,” publicly disclosed the mistreatment he endured while working at Nickelodeon. The perpetrator was Brian Peck, a performer who worked with Bell on “The Amanda Show.” After initially backing Peck during their time together on “Boy Meets World,” Bell shared his current stance with the cast.

During an interview on Investigation Discovery’s docuseries “Quiet on Set: The Dark Side of Kids TV”, Drake Bell disclosed that at the age of 15, he was repeatedly sexually assaulted by his dialogue coach, Brian Peck. In 2004, Peck was indicted on 11 counts of lewd conduct with a minor in connection to Bell’s case, leading to a 16-month prison sentence and registration as a sex offender. Remarkably, several prominent Hollywood figures, including the cast of “Boy Meets World”, stood by Peck at the time. In a recent episode of “The Sarah Fraser Show” podcast, Bell discussed how stars like Will Friedle and Rider Strong have since reached out to him to express their regret for past support of Peck.

Will [Friedle] reached out. That was really sweet. Rider [Strong] reached out, he was very apologetic and sweet. We had a really long, like, two-hour conversation. They check in on me and everything but, yeah, that’s about it.

Drake Bell admitted to Sarah Fraser that he hadn’t known about the supportive letters from celebrities for Brian Peck until the docuseries. While appearing on “Quiet on Set”, the ex-Nickelodeon star was taken aback when he read all the letters vouching for Peck, who accused Bell of wrongdoing, with many stating they’d still collaborate with him again despite the allegations against him.

Apart from the cast of “Boy Meets World,” other high-profile figures have publicly expressed remorse for their past actions, such as Beth and Rich Correll, directors of Nickelodeon, who admitted feeling terrible about being on the wrong side of a distressing event, which they described as “awful.” The main actor also mentioned that he has been conversing with Josh Peck, his co-star from “Drake and Josh,” who reached out to him privately following the release of the docuseries.

Back in March, when Zoey 101 actress Alexa Nikolas called out the Boy Meets World cast in an Instagram post for initially defending Brian Peck, Drake Bell spoke out about Will Friedle and Rider Strong’s connection to his abuser’s support during the time it happened. In the since-deleted comments, the Jerry Maguire actor claimed Strong and Friedle, who were both in their ‘20s, were told by Peck what he did and wrote their letters anyway:

Although numerous individuals declined to pen a letter, [Strong and Friedle] were among those who took up the task. Initially, it was believed that these letters would remain unopened indefinitely, with no one ever having the chance to read them. This is their publicist providing guidance on how they could take control of the narrative beforehand.

Approximately a month following Alexa Nikolas’ Instagram statement, Will Friedle and Rider Strong discussed their perspective on events in an episode of their podcast “Pod Meets World.” The actor from “Kim Possible” mentioned that he spent a considerable amount of time with Peck, initially regarding him as a “wonderful, funny person […] whom you wanted to socialize with.” However, Nikolas, who worked for Nickelodeon, is said to have made Friedle feel that the blame lay with his victim.

Originally, due to the length of time spent with him, my first thought was something like, ‘Surely not, it couldn’t be them. It must be someone else.’ As I reflect on this now as an adult, I realize that I had unconsciously defended my friend and blamed the other person. Looking back, I can see how wrong I was to believe such a simplistic narrative, and it fills me with sadness to think that I once held such a naive perspective.

In simpler terms, Rider Strong stated that Brian Peck seemed like someone who had been unfairly targeted as a “victim of underage entanglement.” At the time, it wasn’t easy to find information about accusations against celebrities online, so Strong claimed he was unaware of Peck’s criminal charges. During court proceedings, both Strong and Friedle supported the accused, while Drake Bell stood alone with his mother and legal team. Eventually, the voice actor for “Batman Beyond” admitted to being on the wrong side of many issues.

Initially, actors from shows like Boy Meets World and other Hollywood stars stood by Brian Peck when accusations of abuse were made against him. However, it seems that Will Friedle and Rider Strong have expressed regret for their part in writing support letters. Interestingly, Drake Bell has forgiven the two actors and appears to be maintaining a positive relationship with them, as they occasionally check up on him. You can catch Bell’s interview in the five-part docuseries Quiet on Set, available with your Max subscription.

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2024-12-27 04:37