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After Drake Bell opened up about being molested by his former dialogue coach as a teen star on Nickelodeon, the actor and musician shared over the weekend that he’d previously hinted at the traumatic experience in a song on his debut album.
In a new TikTok video, the “Drake & Josh” star, 37, shared that the song “In the End” from his 2005 album, Telegraph, contains lyrics about the abuse he endured as a teen.
“Wrote this song when I was 15 about what happened before I said anything to anyone,” Bell captioned the clip, which shows him staring off into space while the track plays in the background.
Bell went public for the first time about his experience of sexual abuse at the hands of Brian Peck in the ID docuseries “Quiet on Set: The Dark Side of Kids TV,” which premiered this month. He’d appeared on Nickelodeon’s “The Amanda Show” from 1999 to 2002 and was later cast as a lead in the 2004 sitcom “Drake & Josh.”
Bell’s more than 2 million followers stepped into the video’s comment section to express support.
“I’m so sorry so many people failed you 💔,” one person wrote.
Another person said, “You gave a voice to so many victims in the industry…thank you ❤️”
“Drake.. reliving this all over again has to be so overwhelming for you🥺 Take everything a day at a time. Know you are heard and so loved🫶🏼,” another added. “What a beautiful song.”
Peck was arrested in August 2003 on multiple charges relating to sexual abuse and lewd acts involving an unnamed minor, according to a press release from the Los Angeles Police Department.
The following year he pleaded no contest to two counts of child sex abuse against the unnamed minor. Peck spent 16 months in prison and was ordered to register as a sex offender.
Following the release of “Quiet on Set,” Nickelodeon said in a statement to Variety, “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.”
“Quiet on Set: The Dark Side of Kids TV” is now streaming on Max.
Need help? Visit RAINN’s National Sexual Assault Online Hotline or the National Sexual Violence Resource Center’s website.