Josh Peck has spoken out after the release of a documentary detailing the abuse his “Drake & Josh” co-star Drake Bell suffered at the hands of a Nickelodeon dialogue coach.
“Quiet on Set: The Dark Side of Kids TV,” a four-part docuseries released this week by Investigation Discovery, pieces together testimonies from former Nickelodeon cast and crew members, court documents and archival footage to reveal the dark underbelly of the children’s channel.
Peck, who most recently appeared in the 2024 best picture winner “Oppenheimer,” posted Thursday on social media about his emotional experience watching the documentary.
“I finished the Quiet on Set documentary and took a few days to process it,” Peck wrote on Instagram. “I reached out to Drake privately, but wanted to give my support for the survivors who were brave enough to share their stories of emotional and physical abuse on Nickelodeon sets with the world.”
He continued, “Children should be protected. Reliving this publicly is incredibly difficult, but I hope it can bring healing for the victims and their families as well as necessary change to our industry.”
Peck’s statement comes after his former co-star defended him to fans who criticized his perceived silence.
“Processing this and going through this is a really emotional time,” Bell said on TikTok. “It’s been very sensitive, but (Peck) has reached out to talk with me and help me work through this and has been really, really great. So I just wanted to let you guys know that and to take it a little easy on him.”
Bell’s account is among the documentary’s grisliest — centered on his reportedly monthslong sexual abuse by Brian Peck, who worked as a dialogue coach on several Nickelodeon series featuring Bell and was arrested by Los Angeles police in August 2003 for “lewd acts with a child.” (Brian Peck and Josh Peck are not related.)
Brian Peck was convicted after pleading no contest in May 2004 to two of 11 charges of child sex abuse. He served 16 months in prison and was required to register as a sex offender. After serving his sentence, he was hired as an actor on three episodes of the Disney Channel’s “The Suite Life of Zack & Cody.”
In the documentary, Bell recalls being taken aback by the unwavering support so many industry executives showed for Brian Peck.
“His entire side of the courtroom was full,” Bell said. “There were definitely some recognizable faces on that side of the room. And my side was me, my mom and my brother.”
In a Tuesday video response to the documentary, Dan Schneider, who is at the center of several abuse allegations from former stars of his shows, teared up as he recalled helping Bell’s mother compose her testimony against Brian Peck.
“That was probably the darkest part of my career,” he said.
Nickelodeon also released its own statement to NBC Wednesday.
“Though we cannot corroborate or negate allegations of behaviors from productions decades ago, Nickelodeon as a matter of policy investigates all formal complaints as part of our commitment to fostering a safe and professional workplace environment free of harassment or other kinds of inappropriate conduct,” the statement said.
“Our highest priorities are the well-being and best interests not just of our employees, casts and crew, but of all children, and we have adopted numerous safeguards over the years to help ensure we are living up to our own high standards and the expectations of our audience.”
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