Drake Bell recently spoke candidly about his decision to share his experience of sexual assault for the first time.
During an interview on The Sarah Fraser Show podcast, the 37-year-old actor discussed his participation in the documentary Quiet on Set: The Dark Side of Kids TV, where he opened up about the sexual abuse he endured. Drake admitted that he was initially hesitant to be a part of the documentary due to the emotional trauma involved. He recalled a past experience where he declined to participate in another documentary and faced harsh criticism for his decision. This made him cautious when approached to discuss sensitive topics.
“In the email, they said that people like me were the problem, and this is why things aren’t gonna change in the industry because people like you won’t speak out and won’t come forward. It was just all this shaming of me not wanting to be a part of their documentary. So I’ve always been cautious and on edge whenever approached to talk about such a sensitive topic.”
After receiving inquiries about Quiet on Set, Drake initially hesitated to respond. However, after interacting with one of the directors, Emma Schwartz, he felt a sense of genuine understanding and decided to move forward with the project. Following a meeting in Los Angeles, Drake realized the importance of addressing his personal trauma and checked himself into rehab for therapy.
“I was going through so much in my personal life and after that interview I ended up checking myself into rehab. We were going through a lot of trauma therapy, a lot of group therapy, a lot of one-on-one therapy — your entire day was filled with working through and processing this with a clear mind, and unearthing all of these things that I hadn’t faced head-on, or if I had tried to, it was too painful.”
After completing rehab, Drake felt more prepared to share his story publicly for the first time:
“And so through that process, once I got out, I thought to myself, ‘Maybe this is a good time to reach back out to them and say hey, I’m not 100% yet, let’s talk some more, but I’m getting closer to feeling comfortable with finally sharing my story.’”
In the documentary, Drake revealed that he was sexually assaulted by Brian Peck, a Nickelodeon dialogue coach who was convicted of child molestation. He also mentioned the emotional abuse and sexualization experienced by child stars like himself under the supervision of Dan Schneider. Nickelodeon responded to the revelations with a statement expressing support for Drake.
“Now that Drake Bell had 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.”
Drake, however, found the response from Nickelodeon to be lacking sincerity and criticized it for being superficial. He emphasized the need for more substantial actions to address the issues raised in the documentary.
“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 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. 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.”
Our thoughts are with Drake as he continues to navigate through this challenging journey of healing and recovery. You can watch the full interview below and share your thoughts in the comments.
[Image via Investigation Discovery/YouTube]
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