By Madison Anidjar
Staff Writer
Drake Bell spoke out in the recently released documentary, “Quiet on Set: The Dark Side of Kids TV,” to share his story about the sexual abuse he suffered at the hands of Nickelodeon vocal coach Brian Peck. The four part documentary series by Investigation Discovery scrutinizes Nickelodeon’s production and programming from the ‘90s to the late 2010s under Dan Schneider’s leadership.
“Quiet On Set” interviewed former Nickelodeon writers, crew members, child actors and parents of child actors in order to illustrate pervasive allegations of racism, sexism, and inappropriate relationships between adult crew members and underage stars.
On top of the inappropriate and misogynistic environment created under Schneider’s leadership, three crew members faced charges of sexual abuse of children. One of those crew members is the former vocal coach, Peck, who was arrested in 2003 on 11 counts of lewd acts with a minor between the ages of 14 and 15. In court proceedings, the victim was named only as “John Doe.”
An LAPD press release from that year states that “the minor’s family reported that Peck had molested the child over a six-month period.”
Peck worked on multiple Nickelodeon shows, including “The Amanda Show” and “Drake and Josh.” Bell appeared on “The Amanda Show” from 1999 to 2002, where he met and worked with Peck.
Bell and his father, Joe Bell, explained how Peck created a wedge between father and son. Bell’s father was suspicious of Peck’s touchy and obsessive behavior with his son, but Peck convinced Bell and his mother that Joe was bad for the young star’s career.
Despite warnings from Joe, Bell’s mother allowed Peck to step into a manager role for her son. Bell would spend increasing hours with Peck, even sleeping over at his house after long work days.
The abuse was finally revealed after the mother of Bell’s girlfriend noticed Peck’s concerning behavior, calling Bell nonstop and insisting that Bell see him.
Bell struggled to find the words to explain the abuse, saying to “think of the worst stuff that someone can do to somebody as a sexual assault.”
The investigation was “brutal” for Bell. After informing the police, Bell was told he must call Peck in an effort to get a recorded confession.
Peck pleaded no contest to two counts, and was sentenced to 16 months in prison, and ordered to register as a sex offender. At the sentencing, Bell recounted how Peck's side of the courtroom was full. Many of Peck’s supporters were members of the entertainment industry like James Marsden, Alan Thicke and Tom DeSanto.
Bell himself has faced charges stemming from sexually inappropriate behavior with a minor. In 2021, Bell pleaded guilty to charges of endangerment and disseminating lewd materials to a minor. He was sentenced to two years probation and 200 hours of community service.
In her statement to the court, the victim told the judge and jury that Bell groomed her from the ages of 12 to 15, sending her inappropriate messages, including explicit images and sexually assaulting her on multiple occasions. Bell was never charged for the alleged incidents of sexual assault.
Bell addressed the charges, saying that he “took responsibility” and claiming that “the media took hold of so much misinformation.” Bell also suggested that drug and alcohol abuse played a role in his behavior and says he has since undergone treatment for substance abuse.
The documentary never addresses other allegations of abuse from Bell’s ex-girlfriend Melissa Lingafelt, who accused him in a now deleted series of TikTok videos of abuse and preying on minors during their relationship that began when Lingafelt was just 16. Bell denied all allegations of abuse against Lingafelt.
All four episodes of “Quiet on Set” can be streamed on Max.
