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Drake Bell is opening up about the “brutal” sexual abuse he faced while working at Nickelodeon in the upcoming docuseries, Quiet on Set: The Dark Side of Kids TV. The 37-year-old musician detailed his experience working with former dialogue coach Brian Peck.
“Brian and I became really close because we had a lot of the same interests, which looking back, I think that was probably a little calculated,” Bell said in one scene of the two-part docuseries, according to PEOPLE. “I often look back at that time and wonder how in the world I survived. I remember all of the abusive events, but everything outside of that is very blurry to me, which is a bummer because I experienced a lot of great things in my life and my career during this time. But it was so overshadowed and ruined by what I was dealing with on the inside that it made it really hard for me.”
Bell then recalled a horrifying incident when Peck molested him.
“I was sleeping on the couch where I usually sleep and I woke up to him — I opened my eyes and I woke up and he was … he was sexually assaulting me,” Bell said, referring to the time when he was 15 years old. “And I froze, and was in complete shock and had no idea what to do or how to react.”
The “I Found a Way” artist continued, “You know anytime I had an audition or anytime I needed to work on dialogue or anything, I somehow ended up back at Brian’s house. And it just got worse, and worse, and worse, and worse, and I was just trapped. I had no way out. The abuse was extensive and it got pretty brutal.”
Quiet on Set: The Dark Side of Kids TV airs in two parts on Sunday, March 17, and Monday, March 18, on Investigation Discovery from 9 p.m. to 11 p.m. ET.
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If you or anyone you know has been sexually abused, call the National Sexual Assault Hotline at 1-800-656-HOPE (4673). A trained staff member will provide confidential, judgment-free support as well as local resources to assist in healing, recovering and more.
