- Drake Bell says he did "Quiet on Set: The Dark Side of Kids TV" partially because of his dad.
- Bell thought it would be cathartic for his dad to be able to talk about what had happened.
Drake Bell says he decided to open up about the sexual abuse he experienced as a child actor partially because of his dad.
In an episode of "The Sarah Fraser Show" released on Friday, Bell spoke about his decision to share his story on the docuseries "Quiet on Set: The Dark Side of Kids TV."
Although he was comfortable with the show's producers, Bell said it took some time for him to agree to the project because he wasn't ready to tell the world.
After their initial meeting, Bell shared that he checked into rehab for therapy to process his trauma.
"Through that process, once I got out, I thought to myself, 'You know, maybe this is a good time to reach out to them and say, hey, I'm not 100% yet. Let's talk some more but I'm getting closer to feeling comfortable with finally sharing my story,'" Bell told Fraser.
Bell shared that he was "very cautious" about involving his father, Joe Bell, in the docuseries but ultimately decided to do so because he thought it would be helpful.
"Even though I was battling with 'Oh my gosh, what am I doing telling my story? Should I be doing this?' But also with that feeling of 'Wow, you know, it's all out there now. I can get it off my chest,'" Bell said. "I felt that maybe that would be cathartic and beneficial for my dad to be able to do."
"I'm sure that my dad puts a lot of blame on himself, you know? And I thought that this might be an opportunity for him to realize that, you know, that it's one person's fault," Bell added.
On "Quiet on Set: The Dark Side of Kids TV," Bell says he was the previously unnamed minor whom dialogue coach Brian Peck was charged with sexually abusing in 2004.
Peck worked on Nickelodeon's "All That" and "The Amanda Show." He was sentenced to 16 months in prison and ordered to register as a sex offender in October 2004.
But before he was sentenced, 41 of his family and friends — including prominent Hollywood celebrities like Alan Thicke, James Marsden, and Rider Strong — wrote letters in support of Peck.
Bell also told Fraser that he hasn't received an apology from any of those people who had supported Peck. He also shared that he only found out afterward that he had worked with some of them on his show "Drake and Josh."
"I had no idea that for four years, I was working alongside people who had supported him, and probably in the back of their mind were thinking of me in a certain way, and I thought they were my friends," Bell said.