Josh Peck (left) and Drake Bell.Photo: Jordin Althaus/Walt Disney Television via Getty Images Studios via Getty Images
Josh Peckis speaking out for the first time following his formerDrake and JoshcostarDrake Bell’s abuse allegations.
“I finished the Quiet on Set documentary and took a few days to process it,” he wrote. “I reached out to Drake privately, but I 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,” he continued. “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.”
The statement comes one day after Bell, 37, revealed onTikTokthat theHow I Met Your Fatheralum hadreached outto him in response to his sexual abuse allegations.
“Processing this and going through this is a really emotional time,” the “Found a Way” singer explained in the video. “A lot of it is very difficult so not everything is put out to the public. But I just wanted to let you guys know that [Josh] has reached out to me and it’s been very sensitive."
“But he has reached out to talk with me and help me work through this and he’s been really great,” he added.
A few days earlier, Josh received backlash from fans aftersharing a videowhere he mouthed the words to a viral sound. He could be seen lip-syncing the words, “If I haven’t talked to you since 2023, take that as a f—ing sign that you don’t exist to me anymore.”
Drake Bell and Josh Peck joke around on the set of the children’s television show “Drake & Josh,” at the Nickelodeon Studios in Los Angeles.Reed Saxon/AP
Reed Saxon/AP
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“The clip reveals that former Nickelodeon star Drake Bell will be sharing publicly, for the first time, the story of the abuse he suffered at the hands of Brian Peck, his former dialogue coach who was convicted in 2004 for his crimes against Drake and ordered to register as a sex offender,” Warner Bros. Discovery said in a press release shared with PEOPLE.
In 2004, in connection with Bell’s case, Brian 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 teenager. Bell’s identity as the victim was not made public as he was a minor at the time. Brian spent 16 months in prison and was mandated to register as a sex offender.
If you or someone you know has been a victim of sexual abuse, text “STRENGTH” to the Crisis Text Line at 741-741 to be connected to a certified crisis counselor.
source: people.com
