Drake Bell DEFENDS Josh Peck Against Online Hate For Not Publicly Speaking Out After SA Revelation – Perez Hilton
Drake Bell has no hard feelings for Josh Peck!
Earlier this week, Drake came forward as the victim of adult assault at the hands of his former Nickelodeon dialogue coach Brian Peck. The revelation was revealed in the Investigation Discovery docuseries, Quiet on Set: The Dark Side of Kids TV, which detailed how several former child stars were negatively affected by their time at the kids’ channel.
In light of the vulnerable reveal, in which Drake identified himself as the unnamed minor in Brian’s 2004 adult assault conviction, many fans have turned to his former co-star Josh for some public showings of support. And they’ve been severely disappointed by the silence!
Related: Drake Bell BLASTS Boy Meets World Stars For Defending Child Molester!
All Josh has posted since the doc began airing is a seemingly cryptic and shady TikTok in which he mouthed the words:
“If I haven’t talked to you since 2023, take that as a f**king sign that you don’t exist to me anymore! Damn, you f**king bug! You got sprayed with the Raid. Bye! See you never!”
@joshpeck IB @DOMINIC
♬ original sound – DOMINIC
Yeesh!!!
Was that directed at his former colleague or just super poorly timed? It’s hard to know, but the video and his continued silence about Drake’s difficult past have placed him at the center of a TON of backlash ever since! The Oppenheimer star’s socials have been filled with nasty comments like:
“Shame and disappointment.”
“Your silence is LOUD brother”
“CANCEL JOSH PECK”
“Hush money…”
But it turns out there’s NO bad blood between the former on-screen brothers! The Found A Way crooner took to TikTok on Wednesday to shut down the hate, revealing:
“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 this is really… Processing this and going through this is a really emotional time. A lot of it’s very, very difficult, so not everything is put out to the public.”
But that doesn’t mean he and Josh (who is not related to the convicted adult offender despite having the same last name) haven’t spoken! Drake shared:
“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. He’s been really, really great. Just wanted to let you guys know that and to take it a little easy on him.”
@drakebell ♬ I kind of relate – Drake Bell
That’s good! Not every conversation — especially about something as private and serious as this — has to be public! It’s no secret that the actors have never been that close anyway. Because of all their history, it’s probably more meaningful to reconnect in person than just having Josh release a post online to avoid backlash. Would that be nice? Sure! But at least Josh has reached out!
FWIW, Josh isn’t even the only one being ridiculed for staying silent. Miranda Cosgrove also hasn’t spoken out yet! Their TV mom Nancy Sullivan is the most prominent Drake & Josh star to share her thoughts so far, saying on Instagram that “it broke my heart into a million pieces to hear just how much Drake was holding inside while we were working together.” Oof. This must be hard to hear for them all!
Reactions? Do you think Drake’s co-stars are required to address the revelation publicly like some on TikTok are saying?? Sound OFF (below)!
If you have sincere cause to suspect child abuse, call the Childhelp National Child Abuse Hotline at 1-800-4-A-Child or 1-800-422-4453, or go to www.childhelp.org.
If you or someone you know has experienced adult violence and would like to learn more about resources, consider checking out https://www.rainn.org/resources.
[Image via MEGA/FayesVision/WENN]
