Drake Bell says there has been no apology from stars who wrote letters supporting the acting coach who was charged with sexually abusing him at age 15
- Drake Bell said none of the people who wrote letters in support of his abuser have apologized.
- Brian Peck, an acting coach, was convicted on child sexual abuse charges in 2004.
Drake Bell says none of the people who wrote letters in support of the Nickelodeon acting coach who sexually abused him when he was 15 have reached out and apologized to him.
In the recently-aired Investigation Discovery series, "Quiet on Set: The Dark Side of Kids TV." the "Drake & Josh" star came forward as the previously unnamed child who Brian Peck was charged with sexually abusing in 2004.
In the docuseries, Bell said he was abused by the dialogue coach who worked on Nickelodeon's "All That" and "The Amanda Show," the latter of which he appeared in from 1999 to 2002.
Peck was sentenced to 16 months in state prison and ordered to register as a sex offender by a judge after being convicted of lewd acts with a minor.
But before that, over 40 people close to Peck, including his family, friends, and high-profile Hollywood stars, wrote letters supporting the Nickelodeon staffer. Such letters typically offer a judge a sympathetic perspective of a defendant in a criminal case ahead of sentencing. You can read a selection of them here.
According to Bell, none of the letter-writers — which include James Marsden, "Growing Pains" stars Joanna Kerns, "Boy Meets World" stars Will Friedle and Rider Strong — have since privately apologized.
"I haven't gotten an apology, or a sorry, from anybody that had written letters, or was involved in supporting him at all," Bell said in an episode "The Sarah Fraser Show" podcast released on Friday.
According to Bell, it wasn't until Maxine Productions, one of the docuseries' producers, petitioned the court to unseal them that he became aware that the letters of support existed.
"I learned that later there were multiple people that had supported him that went on to work on my show, 'Drake & Josh.'" he said.
"Drake & Josh" aired for four seasons between 2004 and 2007, and Bell said he "had no idea" at the time that many of the crew members he was working closely with on the show had so adamantly supported Peck.
"I worked with these people every day, and I thought they were my friends," he said. "They were people in positions of power, they were my bosses, they were directors, they were producers."
"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 also pointed out that although Friedle and Rider Strong have stated on their podcast "Pod Meets World" that they felt "shame" for being "misled" by the dialogue coach, neither have spoken to him directly.
However, Bell said he appreciated those who have released sincere apology statements, such as "X-Men" producer Tom DeSanto.
"This is a very, very tough thing for everyone involved, and that's what happens when people like Brian do what they do. It creates a ripple effect. And so that was really cool of him to do."
DeSanto told People via his representative that his decision to support Peck was "based on incomplete information given to me" and "had I been fully informed of all the accusations, my support would have been absolutely withheld."
In the docuseries, Kerns also provided a follow-up statement expressing regret over her letter, which read: "I have now learned that my letter of support was based on complete misinformation. Knowing what I know now, I never would have written the letter."
"Quiet on Set" is produced by Maxine Productions, a part of Sony Pictures Television Nonfiction, in association with Business Insider.