Former child star Drake Bell has slammed Nickelodeon’s responses to the “Quiet on Set: The Dark Side of Kids TV” documentary, calling the network’s apology “pretty empty.”
“There’s a really well-tailored response saying, ‘Learning about his trauma,’ because they couldn’t say that they didn’t learn about this or what had happened, or anything,” Bell, 37, said during an appearance on the “The Sarah Fraser Show” podcast. “So I feel that was a very 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,” the “Drake and Josh” alum fumed.
“And I even have to pay for my very own therapy, I even have to determine what — I mean if there was anything, if there was any truth behind them actually caring, there could be something greater than quotes on a page by obviously a legal representative telling them exactly how to tailor a response.”
Bell’s statement comes a mere week after the docuseries aired and caused massive ripples online.
Shortly after Bell’s episode aired, the youngsters’s TV network issued what they seemed to think was a sincere apology to the entertainer.
“Now that Drake Bell has disclosed his identity because the plaintiff within the 2004 case, we’re dismayed and saddened to learn of the trauma he has endured, and we commend and support the strength required to come forward,” the network said in an announcement obtained by Variety.
“Though we cannot corroborate or negate allegations of behaviors from productions a long time ago, Nickelodeon as a matter of policy investigates all formal complaints as a part of our commitment to fostering a protected and skilled workplace environment freed from harassment or different kinds of inappropriate conduct,” it continued.
“Our highest priorities are the well-being and best interests not only of our employees, casts and crew, but of all children, and we have now adopted quite a few safeguards through the years to help ensure we reside up to our own high standards and the expectations of our audience.”
Within the Investigation Discovery docuseries — which will be streamed on Max — Bell revealed that he had been sexually assaulted by acting coach Brian Peck while staying at his house.
“I used to be sleeping on the couch where I might often sleep. I woke up to him — I opened my eyes, I woke up and he was sexually assaulting me,” Bell recalled in his harrowing interview. “I froze and was in complete shock and had no idea what to do or how to react, and I do not know how to get out of this case.”
According to the actor, nobody on the time believed him aside from his father who — when he attempted to raise the problem with studio executives — was told he was being “homophobic” due to the incontrovertible fact that Peck, now 62, was gay.
“I used to be just trapped. I had no way out,” Bell recalls, adding that the abuse became “extensive” and “pretty brutal.”
Bell alleges that the abuse is what began him down a self-destructive road.
In May 2004, Peck pleaded no contest to two charges of sexual abuse. He was later sentenced to 16 months in prison and ordered to register as a sex offender.
The tell-all doc also details the incredibly toxic work environment that Nickelodeon exec Dan Schneider promoted.
Schneider — who worked on shows similar to “The Amanda Show,” “All That” and “iCarly” — was accused of sexualizing child stars similar to Ariana Grande and Jamie Lynn Spears.
Last week, the embattled TV exec broke his silence and issued a full apology in a video posted online.
“Dan is apologizing for his behavior. He never ever must have asked for massages. Period. He crossed the road in the author’s room with the jokes that he told and the pranks that he pulled,” a spokesperson for Schneider said in notes accompanying the video.
“They were inappropriate and never must have happened. A number of the On Air Dare sketches went too far,” the apology continued. “Dan wishes they hadn’t done those and he’s truly sorry to the young actors who weren’t comfortable. And throughout he’s sorry for a way he treated people.”
“He was a jerk at times and if he could do it again he would have been a greater boss and a greater person.”
According to Schnider, 58, some questionable scenes ought to be cut from future airings.
“Dan absolutely never intended for any of those jokes which might be now being seen as sexualized content to be anything apart from funny for youths,” his spokesperson said. “If a few of those jokes at the moment are not seen the identical way anymore then they absolutely ought to be cut and he fully supports that.”