Drake Bell has asked fans to take it easy on Josh Peck for not publicly commenting on the alleged sexual abuse that happened when he was 15.
"I just want to clear something up. I’ve noticed a lot of comments on some of Josh’s TikToks and some of his posts," said Bell in a video shared to TikTok. "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."
Some fans have accused Bell's former Drake & Josh co-star of staying silent after he came forward with the alleged sexual abuse he faced at the hands of Nickelodeon dialogue coach Brian Peck (no relation to Josh) at age 15.
"But I just want you guys to know that he has reached out to me, and it’s been very sensitive," Bell continued. "But he has reached out to talk with me and help me work through this. And has been really, really great. So just wanted to let you guys know that and to take it a little easy on him."
Bell shared his experience in the Investigation Discovery docuseries, Quiet on Set: The Dark Side of Kids TV. Bell said that he was sexually abused by the dialogue coach, who worked on All That and The Amanda Show. In 2003, he was arrested on charges of lewd acts with a minor and oral copulation of a person under 16. Brian Peck spent 16 months in prison and was ordered to register as a sex offender upon his release. Bell went undisclosed as the minor in the case until now.
Bell has faced his own controversies as an adult. He's been hit with DUIs and financial troubles and was briefly reported missing last year. In 2021, he was sentenced to two years of probation after pleading guilty to child endangerment charges.
