Updated, March 21, 2:40 p.m. ET: Josh Peck has broken his silence on a new docuseries in which his former Drake & Josh co-star Drake Bell says he was sexually abused during his years on Nickelodeon. “I finished the Quiet On Set documentary and took a few days to process it,” Peck wrote on Instagram Thursday. “I reached out to Drake privately, but wanted 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.”
He continued, “Children should be protected. Reliving this publicly is incredibly difficult, but I hope it can bring healing for the victims and their families as well as necessary change to our industry.”
The original post continues below.
In the aftermath of Quiet on Set: The Dark Side of Kids TV, an Investigation Discovery docuseries about alleged abuse and misconduct at kids’ network Nickelodeon, reactions to the biggest bombshells have poured in, particularly when it comes to former network star Drake Bell. During the four-episode series, which concluded on Monday, Bell says that he was sexual abused by his vocal coach Brian Peck, whom he met on The Amanda Show set. Peck was convicted on sexual abuse charges in October 2004, sentenced to 16 months in prison, and ordered to register as a sex offender.
The abuse occurred when Bell was 15, before he began his second Nickelodeon project, Drake & Josh, in which he starred alongside Josh Peck (no relation to Brian) as a pair of stepbrothers forced to share a bedroom. They appeared in four seasons of the series, plus two movies, and have navigated a sometimes rocky offscreen Relationship in the years since.
Peck did not participate in the Nickelodeon series, and has not publicly addressed Bell’s allegations. On Monday, he received backlash from fans after posting a video to TikTok in which he mouths the words to this viral sound: “If I haven’t talked to you since 2023, take that as a fucking sign that you don’t exist to me anymore.”
But Bell encouraged his followers to halt any criticism, sharing on his own TikTok on Wednesday that Peck had contacted him privately after the docuseries. “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,” Bell said in the video. “Processing this and going through this is a really emotional time. A lot of it is very, very difficult, so not everything is put out to the public.”
TikTok content
This content can also be viewed on the site it originates from.
Bell continued, “But I just want you guys to know that he has reached out to me, and it’s been very sensitive. But he has reached out to talk with me and help me work through this. And has been really, really great. So, just wanted to let you guys know that and to take it a little easy on him.” Vanity Fair has reached out to a rep for Peck for comment.
Nancy Sullivan, who played Bell’s mom on Drake & Josh, has addressed the actor’s participation in the documentary on Instagram. “They weren’t my real kids, but I’ll always love them. It broke my heart into a million pieces to hear just how much Drake was holding inside while we were working together,” Sullivan wrote. “I was both devastated and proud seeing the man he’s grown into sit down on camera and bravely tell his truth. Past abuse doesn’t define us, and it has no right to rule our lives, I know that putting this burden down will free him in so many ways. I hope memories of the joy he had on our shows will someday greatly overshadow the pain. Sending love to Drake for a deep healing and for a rich and beautiful life ahead.”
The show’s creator, Dan Schneider*,* who has faced longtime toxicity allegations and is frequently implicated in the docuseries, issued a video apology this week and briefly spoke about Bell’s abuse. “When Drake and I talked and he told me about what had happened, I was more devastated by that than anything that ever happened to me in my career thus far,” Schneider said. “And I told him, ‘I’m here for you.’”
In a statement to Deadline, Nickelodeon previously acknowledged the abuse claims made by Bell. “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,” the network said.