Originally appeared on E! Online
Josh Peck is showing his support for Drake Bell.
The “Drake & Josh” alum addressed Investigation Discovery’s documentary, “Quiet on Set: The Dark Side of Kids TV,” for the first time March 21, writing on Instagram that it took “a few days to process” after watching it.
“I reached out to Drake privately,” Josh Peck shared of his former costar, “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.”
In the documentary, Bell came forward as the unnamed minor involved in the 2004 sexual assault conviction of Brian Peck, an acting and dialogue coach hired for Nickelodeon’s “All That.” (Despite the same last name, Josh Peck and Brian Peck are not related.)
“Children should be protected,” Josh Peck’s message continued, noting that it was likely difficult to relive the trauma in such a public way before adding, “I hope it can bring healing for the victims and their families as well as necessary change to our industry.”
Photos: Nickelodeon Stars Then and Now
The post comes just one day after Bell called for fans to take it easy on Josh Peck, who was receiving backlash for not yet addressing the doc, sharing that they’d connected behind the scenes.
“[Josh] has reached out to talk with me,” Bell said on TikTok March 20, “and help me work through this and has been really great. Just wanted to let you guys know that and to take it a little easy on him.”
Regarding Bells’s revelation, Nickelodeon said in a statement to NBC News, “Now that Drake Bell has disclosed his identity as the plaintiff in the 2004 case, we are dismayed and saddened to learn of the trauma he has endured, and we commend and support the strength required to come forward.”
“Quiet on Set” also looked at the allegations of inappropriate behavior against Dan Schneider—the creator of Nickelodeon sitcoms like “Drake & Josh,” “iCarly” and “Victorious”—who responded to the claims on March 19.
“Watching over the past two nights was very difficult for me,” Schneider told “iCarly” alum BooG!e in an interview published to YouTube. “Facing my past behaviors, some of which are embarrassing and that I regret, and I definitely owe some people a pretty strong apology.”
“I could be cocky and definitely overambitious and sometimes just straight up rude and obnoxious and I am so sorry that I ever was,” he continued. “When I watched the show, I could see the hurt in some people’s eyes and it made me feel awful and regretful and sorry.”
However, Schneider—who left Nickelodeon in 2018—has maintained that his behavior wasn’t inappropriate. “I couldn’t, and I wouldn’t have the long-term friendships and continued loyalty from so many reputable people if I’d mistreated my actors of any age, especially minors,” Schneider told The New York Times in 2021, adding that if people saw him as “difficult,” it was because of his “high standards.”
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