Quiet on Set: Josh Peck breaks silence on Drake Bell controversy

Following the release of Quiet on Set: The Dark Side of Kids TV, Josh Peck has broken his silence on the ongoing Drake Bell controversy. 

This week, Josh – who appeared alongside Drake in the hit Nickelodeon show Drake & Josh in the 00s – was accused of not supporting his former co-star over the abuse he experienced as a teenager. 

Amid the tumult, Bell took to TikTok to tell his fans to “take it a little easy” and reassure them that Josh “has been really great.” Despite his efforts, the backlash continued, but Josh has now broken his silence on the situation with a statement. 

Taking to Instagram, he wrote: “I finished the Quiet on Set documentary and took a few days to process it. 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.

Instagram/@shuapeck

“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.”

The situation unfolded in light of Investigation Discovery’s new documentary series, in which Bell reveals his identity as the victim in the 2004 child abuse case against former Nickelodeon dialogue coach and “Pickle Boy” star, Brian Peck – who has no relation to Josh. 

At the start of this week, Josh shared an unrelated TikTok video in which he lip-syncs to an audio that states, “If I haven’t talked to you since 2023, take that as a f*cking sign that you don’t exist to me anymore.”

Spectators jumped to the conclusion that he was referring to Bell, as the pair have had a rocky relationship in the years following Drake & Josh. “Have you checked on Drake?” asked one, while another said, “Interesting timing.”

As the backlash unfolded, Bell shared his own TikTok on Wednesday (March 20), stating: “I’ve noticed a lot of comments on some of Josh’s TikToks and some of his posts and 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’s very, very difficult, so not everything is put out to the public.”

He continued: “But he has reached out to talk with me and help me work through this, and has been really, really great. So I just wanted to let you guys know that and to take it a little easy on him.”

Although the comments are turned off on Josh’s latest statement, fans have shared support on Bell’s post. “Thank you for sharing your story and I am glad Josh has reached out,” said one. 

While Bell’s accounts have been flooded with messages of support, a number of Quiet on Set viewers aren’t happy with the documentary series for brushing over the allegations made against the actor. 

Bell was sentenced to two years of probation for child endangerment in 2021 after a former female fan accused Bell of grooming her from the age of 12. 

The year prior, Melissa Lingafelt – who dated Bell when she was 16 and he was 20 – shared a series of now-deleted TikTok videos accusing him of emotionally and physically abusing her during their relationship. 

In Quiet on Set, Bell says about the 2021 case, “I took responsibility for that, you know, I did what was asked of me, but the media grabbed a hold of so much misinformation and it absolutely destroyed me.”

Responding to his comments, one viewer wrote: “It really bummed me out as an ex-fan of his, he continues to call it ‘misinformation’ in the doc. I was really hoping that he would use this moment as a chance to take some accountability and he still didn’t do it. 

“It’s so disappointing to see him continue to complain about people criticizing him for the abuse while simultaneously not addressing it in the slightest.”

Quiet on Set: The Dark Side of Kids TV is available on ID and Max, which you can sign up for here. You can read more about what we think is missing from Quiet on Set. And for new content to watch, check out all the best TV shows hitting streaming this month.

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