Drake Bell Responds to Abuse Allegations Against Him in Nickelodeon Docuseries

“I did what I was asked, but the media picked up on so much misinformation and it completely destroyed me,” the former child star said in “Quiet on Set: The Dark Side of Kids TV” from ID.

Drake Bell reflects on the mistakes of his past.

In the new documentary series Investigation Discovery Quiet on set: The dark side of children's televisionTHE Drake and Josh The actor is speaking publicly for the first time about the repeated sexual abuse he survived as a teenager, perpetrated by Nickelodeon dialogue coach Brian Peck, who was later convicted. In the final segment of the four-part series (out tonight on ID), Bell explains how his trauma led him down a dark path. “There was definitely a slow decline in my mental health and my sobriety, I mean, the drunk driving, the behaviors that were happening because I was lost,” Bell said.

“Just after Drake and Josh, I signed, and then I released my second album,” Bell explained. “I've done some really cool movies, but I was doing periods of sobriety, and then, you know, the pressure would be too much, and all these demons that I had were very difficult to overcome,” he said. describe. “And so I think a lot of my self-destructive behavior would always just be a temporary fix, and it (would) always reappear. I went through this bankruptcy and lost my house. I mean, it was absolutely devastating.

In 2021, Bell pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor charge of attempted child endangerment and a misdemeanor charge of disseminating material harmful to minors, related to inappropriate text messages he sent to a teenage girl in 2017. He was sentenced to two years of probation and 200 hours in prison. community service.

At the sentencing hearing, the victim called Bell “the embodiment of evil” and accused the actor of having sex with her when she was 12, before sexually assaulting her at 15 years old. “He was calculating. He was coming after me and sexually assaulting me,” she said, also accusing him of sending her photos of his genitals. “He’s a monster and a danger to children.”

The actor has not been charged with doing anything physical, and he and his lawyer have disputed the allegations of misconduct, insisting at the time that the contact only included text messages, not photos or anything of a sexual nature.

“I took responsibility for it, you know, I did what I was asked, but the media picked up on so much misinformation and it completely destroyed me,” Bell said of the case of attempted child endangerment in the docuseries. “And I started to spiral out of control. If I had continued down this path, this could very likely be the end of my story.

Bell said his trajectory improved when he finally sought help. “I was at my lowest point, so I went into treatment, and I had to go through a lot of trauma therapy, a lot of grief therapy, and be around people who, for the first time in a long time, wanted to see “I just get better,” he said.

Bell was also accused of physical and verbal abuse by an ex-girlfriend in 2020. He denied these allegations at the time, but there is no explicit mention of them in the documentary.

Quiet on set: The dark side of children's television episodes 1 and 2 are now on ID. Episodes 3 and 4 will air Monday at 9 p.m. ET/PT on ID.

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 with a certified crisis counselor.

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