Drake Bell is calling out former ‘Boy Meets World’ stars Will Friedle and Rider Strong for once defending his abuser, Brian Peck, when the Nickelodeon dialogue coach faced jail time for his crimes.
via Page Six:
Bell — who is set to break his silence on the abuse he allegedly experienced at the hands of Peck in a new docuseries — took to Instagram Thursday to respond to a series of fans commenting in support of the “Boy Meets World” co-stars.
“They were victims too,” one fan wrote under Nickelodeon alum Alexa Nikolas’ post criticizing Friedle, Strong and Danielle Fishel’s recent podcast episode, in which the two men alleged they had been groomed by Peck — seemingly using that as an excuse for why they backed him in court.
The fan added, “I listened to that entire podcast and they were manipulated by him just like anyone else. They feel awful. And they were minors. This isn’t black and white.”
Bell, 37, wrote in response, “Will was 27 years old and Brian told him what he did. Many people turned away and said no I won’t write a letter but they did. Will was not manipulated.”
He added in a separate comment that Strong was “24 years old when he wrote the letter and was told by Brian what he did,” reiterating that — like Friedle — the former child star “wrote the letter anyway.”
Bell also claimed Friedle has yet to personally apologize to him despite having an opportunity to do so.
“He worked with me on many episodes of [‘Ultimate Spider-Man’] years later and never said a word to me about it,” the “All That” actor claimed.
Bell then accused Friedle, 47, and Strong, 44, of speaking about their role in Peck’s case with a regretful tone on their Feb. 19 “Pod Meets World” episode for an ulterior motive.
The “iCarly” alum said he believed the letters were talked about because they will be discussed on Investigation Discovery’s “Quiet on the Set: The Dark Side of Kids TV,” which premieres this weekend.
“We weren’t told the whole story, but it doesn’t change the fact that we did it,” Friedle previously said on his podcacst. “I still can’t get the words out to describe all of the things that I’m feeling inside of myself.”
Bell concluded via his Instagram comment, “Everyone thought the letters would be sealed forever and no one would ever see them. This is their publicist telling them how to get ahead of the story.”
Page Six has reached out to reps for both Friedle and Strong but did not immediately hear back.
Bell, for his part, will go into further detail about Peck allegedly abusing him when he was just 15.
Per an advance screening of the docuseries, the former child actor — who met the acting coach on “The Amanda Show” — claims Peck began molesting him when he slept over his house.
“I woke up to him — I opened my eyes, I woke up and he was sexually assaulting me,” Bell recalls, speaking out about the allegations publicly for the first time.
“I froze and was in complete shock and had no idea what to do or how to react, and I have no idea how to get out of this situation.”
Bell goes on to describe how the alleged abuse continued and got “worse” over time, noting, “I was just trapped. I had no way out.”
After Peck, now 62, allegedly tried to get a part on his show, “Drake & Josh,” Bell says he finally told his mom what occurred, and a police investigation was launched.
Peck was arrested in 2003 on 11 charges, including sodomy, a lewd act against a child and oral copulation of a person under 16, and oral copulation by anesthesia or controlled substance.
He was convicted a year later for only two of the charges and the rest were dismissed after 41 letters speaking favorably about him — including those by Friedle and Strong — were sent to the judge.
The disgraced voice actor was sentenced to 16 months in jail, and reportedly went back to working on kids’ shows like “The Suite Life of Zack & Cody” after his release.
‘Quiet on the Set: The Dark Side of Kids TV’ airs Sunday and Monday at 9 p.m. ET on Investigation Discovery.
