After Drake Bell‘s revelation that he was sexually abused as a Nickelodeon child star, fans have been vocal online about when his Drake & Josh co-star Josh Peck was going to publicly support him.
Even Drake noticed, and he’s now assuring fans of the beloved show that they’ve been talking privately — and to “take it a little easy” on his former co-star, who recently appeared in the Oscar-winning Oppenheimer.
In a TikTok message posted Wednesday, Bell noted, “I just want to clear something up. 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.”
Bell added, “I just want you guys to know that he has reached out to me, and it’s been very sensitive. He has reached out to talk with me and help me work through this, and has been really, really great.”
Bell emphasized, “So just wanted to let you guys know that and to take it a little easy on him.”
In the new documentary series Quiet on Set: The Dark Side of Kids TV, Bell admitted he was abused by former Nickelodeon dialogue coach Brian Peck — no relation to Josh — and was the John Doe minor in Peck’s 2003 child sexual abuse case.
Peck was arrested in 2003 and charged with 11 counts, including lewd acts with a child and sexual abuse of a minor. He pleaded guilty to two of the counts, was sentenced to 16 months in prison and was ordered to register as a sex offender.
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