Former Nickelodeon child star Josh Peck broke his silence about his Drake & Josh co-star Drake Bell after watching Investigation Discovery’s Quiet on Set: The Dark Side of Kids TV documentary, which featured a slew of shocking revelations involving child molestation at the network, among other things.
“I finished the Quiet On Set documentary and took a few days to process it,” Peck wrote in a Thursday Instagram post.
“I reached out to Drake privately, but wanted 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,” the former child actor continued.
“Children should be protected,” Peck affirmed. “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.”
Peck’s statement came one day after Bell asked his fans to “take it a little easy on” his Drake & Josh co-star.
“I just want to let you guys know that — processing this and going through this is a really emotional time, and a lot of it is very, very difficult,” Bell said in a video posted to his TikTok account.
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“Not everything is put out to the public, but I just want you guys to know that he has reached out to me,” the former child star continued.
“It has been very sensitive, but he has reached out to talk with me, and help me work through this, and it has been really great,” Bell added. “So, I just wanted to let you guys know that, and to take it a little easy on him.”
Bell revealed in Quiet on Set that he had been sexually abused as a child by former Nickelodeon dialogue coach Brian Peck — information that had been kept a secret form the public for more than 20 years.
Fans responded to the revelations in the docuseries by slamming Josh Peck — who, despite sharing the same last name, is not related to Brian Peck — for never speaking up on behalf of Bell.
In 2022, Peck said during an interview with Barstool Sports founder Dave Portnoy, comedian Josh Richards, and internet personality Brianna Chickenfry that he and Bell were “not really” friends, and compared his time working with Bell on Drake & Josh to working with someone at a coffee shop when you’re 16 years old.
“Drake and I didn’t stay in touch for the ten years since we had made the show,” Peck said. “It’s like we worked at Coffee Bean when we were 16, and, like, I’m sorry, I’m 31 now, I might have lost your number.”
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“We were kids, right? Obviously, there were times when we were closer than not, but when inevitably the show ended — I mean, we’re just totally different kids,” Peck continued. “I was like this kid from New York who was into the Beastie Boys, and he was the kid from Orange County who was into the Beach Boys, like, it was just different people.”
“You can’t pick your hits,” Peck added. “Drake & Josh is something I’ll be synonymous with forever, and I’m proud of it. And I want to like the guy that my name is attached to forever, but unfortunately, it just sort of worked out the way that it did.”
It remains unclear what — if anything — Peck knew with regards to the sexual abuse his co-star had faced from the child predator working in their industry.
The documentary, however, did note that several Hollywood stars wrote letters of support for Brian Peck when he was on trial for child molestation in 2004, and even and accused Bell of “tempting” him.
Those stars included actresses Joanna Kerns and Kimmy Robertson, actor James Marsden, Boy Meets World stars Will Friedle and Rider Strong, actor Alan Thicke, Saturday Night Live alum Taran Killam, and X-Men producer Tom DeSanto.
Moreover, Bell recalled seeing Brian Peck’s side of the courtroom being “full” with supporters.
“His entire side of the courtroom was full,” Bell said in Quiet on Set. “There were definitely some recognizable faces on that side of the room — Brian had been convicted, but getting all of this support from a lot of people in the industry. I was pretty shocked.”
Brian Peck was arrested in 2003 on 11 charges involving child sexual abuse, and in May 2004 pleaded no contest to performing a lewd act with an anonymous 14 or 15 year old, as well as to oral copulation with a minor under 16.
The former Nickelodeon dialogue coach was convicted of sexually abusing an unnamed child actor, and ordered to register as a sex offender. He was also sentenced to 16 months in prison. For 20 years, the unnamed Nickelodeon child actor remained anonymous — until now.
You can follow Alana Mastrangelo on Facebook and X/Twitter at @ARmastrangelo, and on Instagram.
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