Drake Bell doesn’t think Nickelodeon‘s response to Quiet on Set was up to par.
The Investigation Discovery docuseries has brought to light some seriously disturbing details about actor and dialogue coach Brian Peck‘s sex offender conviction in 2004. Drake revealed he was the previously anonymous underage victim of Peck’s abuse, back when he was just a kid working on All That and The Amanda Show. This was part of a larger narrative of dangerous and toxic working conditions for the very young stars on Nick. And the kids’ TV network has responded.
Related: Disney Hired Peck AFTER His Conviction — To Work On The Suite Life Of Zack & Cody!
A spokesperson for Nickelodeon sent a statement to several outlets last week:
“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.”
But Drake himself thinks the reaction to all the allegations was “empty”, as he told Sarah Fraser on her podcast The Sarah Fraser Show Friday. In his first interview since the bombshell’s release, the now 37-year-old blasted Nickelodeon’s pat statement:
“There’s a very well-tailored response saying, ‘Learning about his trauma,’ because they couldn’t say that they didn’t know about this or know what had happened, or anything. So I think that was a really well-tailored response by probably some big attorney in Hollywood. I find it pretty empty, their responses, because, I mean, they still show our shows, they still put our shows on.”
Drake has had his share of problems as an adult. He recently revealed he only did the doc after completing a stint in rehab. He went on to point out how he’s still “paying” for his own therapy — while he feels the network just doesn’t really care about his or the other stars’ mental well-being:
“And I have to pay for my own therapy, I have to figure out what — I mean, if there was anything, if there was any truth behind them actually caring, there would be something more than quotes on a page by obviously a legal representative telling them exactly how to tailor a response.”
Damn.
Drake also hit back at the network’s characterization that they ever did their own investigation. He told Sarah his father, Joe Bell, often flagged “uncomfortable” behavior by adults towards minors at the time — but Nick execs always brushed it off:
“They would shoo him away. If that’s their idea of an investigation, it’s very faulty, and I don’t think that they would discover anything with an investigation like, ‘Oh, you don’t understand, he’s just that way. That’s just how he is.’ I mean, that’s not an investigation, so that’s a bold-faced lie.”
Oof. At this point, there are just too many former child stars coming forward, especially about Dan Schneider, to believe no one else at Nick knew anything.
See the full interview (below):
What do U think about Drake’s response, Perezcious readers? Let us know (below).
[Image via The Sarah Fraser Show/Investigation Discovery/YouTube]
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