Warning: This article contains discussion of sexual assault which some readers may find distressing
Former Nickelodeon star Drake Bell has defended his old co-star Josh Peck over his silence following Bell's revelation that he was sexually assaulted when he was 15-years-old.
Drake and Josh worked together between the years of 2004-2007 on the Nickelodeon show Drake & Josh, beginning when they were both around 17-years-old.
The year before Drake & Josh began airing, dialogue coach Brian Peck - who has no relation to Josh but who also worked on Nickelodeon - was arrested on charges of child sexual abuse.
At the time, the identity of the child actor who was abused by Peck was not released, and they were referred to in court documents as John Doe.
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However, this week Drake came forward to confirm he was the minor involved in the case on the Investigation Discovery documentary Quiet on Set: The Dark Side of Kids TV.
Drake recalled going to the courthouse while Peck was being sentenced, and spotting some 'recognizable faces' there to show their support for the dialect coach.
A total of 41 people wrote letters of support for Peck, prompting backlash from some of Drake's supporters in the wake of the documentary.
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One person who has not spoken out publicly after Drake came forward is Josh, who is still working as an actor as well as a comedian.
His apparent silence sparked criticism from internet users who flooded his social media pages with comments.
Many people asked the actor: "Have you talked to drake bell?"
Other comments read: "What about Drake bruh," and: "You were his show brother josh !! Show a brother support!!"
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After spotting the comments aimed at Josh, Drake has stepped in to defend his former co-star, urging people to back off.
In a video shared to his own TikTok account, Drake said: "I just want to clear something up. I’ve noticed a lot of comments on some of Josh’s TikToks and some of his posts and I just want to let you guys know that processing this and going through this is a really emotional time and a lot of it is very, very difficult."
Drake went on to reveal that Josh had reached out to him privately, saying: "So not everything is put out to the public, but I just want you guys to know that he [Josh] has reached out to me, and it’s been very sensitive.
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"But he 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.”
Following his arrest, Peck was sentenced to 16 months in prison and was registered as a sex offender.
UNILAD has contacted representatives of Josh for comment.
If you've been affected by any of the issues in this article, you can contact The National Sexual Assault Hotline on 800.656.HOPE (4673), available 24/7. Or you can chat online via online.rainn.org
Topics: Film and TV, Celebrity, TikTok
Emily Brown