Drake Bell Says "Boy Meets World"'s Will Friedle, Rider Strong 'Check In on Me' After Apologizing for Supporting His Abuser

12/19/2024 04:02 PM

"Rider [Strong] reached out — he was very apologetic and sweet, and we had a really long, like, two-hour conversation," Bell revealed

Drake Bell is opening up about the support he received after revealing he was a victim of sexual abuse.

In a Dec. 19 episode of The Sarah Fraser Show, Bell, 38, spoke about how other Nickelodeon stars reacted after he shared that he was sexually abused by dialogue coach Brian Peck as a child actor on the network. The Drake & Josh alum had appeared on Fraser's podcast several months prior to discuss his story, and he said after that episode, he heard from two cast members of Boy Meets World who had previously written letters in support of his abuser.

"Will [Friedle] reached out," he said. "That was really sweet. Rider [Strong] reached out — he was very apologetic and sweet, and we had a really long, like, two-hour conversation. They check in on me and everything and, yeah, that's about it."

Related: The Biggest Bombshells from 'Quiet on Set,' the Docuseries Alleging Toxic Culture on Nickelodeon Shows

Fraser also asked if Bell had talked to Robin Thicke, whose late father Allen Thicke had written a letter of support for Peck as well, while they worked together on The Masked Singer.

"No, I don't think he even connected the dots or anything like that because he has nothing to do with it," Bell explained.

In 2004, Peck pleaded no contest to charges against him for oral copulation with a minor under 16 and performing a lewd act with a 14- or 15-year-old in connection with Bell's case. Peck spent 16 months in prison and was required to register as a sex offender. 

It wasn't until March 2024 that the docuseries Quiet on Set: The Dark Side of Kids TV dug deeper into the details of the abuse as it uncovered some of the toxic culture of children's television shows in the 1990s and 2000s, including many produced by Dan Schneider. 

The ID Channel special exposed several actors who wrote letters of support for Peck when he was set to be sentenced in 2004 for sexually abusing Bell, although it is unclear how much each of them knew about the charges at the time.

Related: Where Is Brian Peck Now? All About His Sexual Assault Case and Prison Sentence

When it was revealed that Friedle and Strong were among those actors, they expressed regret for supporting Peck (who appeared on two episodes of Boy Meets World) on their Pod Meets World podcast. Friedle said that he was turned "against the victim" by Peck after he "ingratiated himself" into his life.

"So you sidle up to the guy who now you look back on as an adult and you go, 'He's horrible,'" Friedle said. "And my instinct initially was, 'Well, my friend can't be [this person], this can't be. So it's got to be the other person's fault,' has to be the story. Of course, it makes complete sense. The way that he's saying it and 'You're damn right, it's that kid's fault. How dare he?' And I look back at that now as an adult, and it makes me want to cry that I ever was that naive."

He added that he now believes he was sitting in the courtroom "on the wrong side of everything." 

Bell later called Friedle and Strong out for writing the letters in since-deleted comments under a post from Zoey 101 star Alexa Nikolas in following the release of Quiet on Set in March. He alleged both Friedle and Strong knew what Peck did to him but they "wrote the letter anyway."

The following month, Bell took to X (formerly Twitter) to share an update on his friendship with Strong. "I just had the most amazing conversation with @RiderStrong we are all healing together. I have nothing but love and forgiveness for him," Bell wrote.

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In addition to Friedle, Strong and Thicke, letters of support for Peck came from SNL alum Taran Killam, Growing Pains star Joanna Kerns, Twin Peaks actress Kimmy Robertson and X-Men producer Tom DeSanto. 

In a statement featured in the docuseries, Kerns said: "I have now learned that my letter of support was based on complete misinformation. Knowing what I know now, I would never have written the letter."

In a statement to PEOPLE issued through his representative on March 13, DeSanto said, "Having dedicated a significant portion of my career to shedding light on systemic abuse and advocating for those without a voice. These experiences have profoundly shaped my understanding of responsibility and advocacy and is at the core of who I am." 

He added, "My decisions at the time were based on incomplete information given to me, and I lacked full awareness of the gravity of the accusations. With the knowledge and understanding I possess today, I want to personally apologize to Drake and his family and emphatically state that had I been fully informed of all the accusations, my support would have been absolutely withheld. This situation underscores the critical importance of due diligence and the relentless pursuit of truth, especially when it comes to standing in solidarity with survivors of abuse."

If you or someone you know has been a victim of sexual abuse, text "STRENGTH" to the Crisis Text Line at 741-741 to be connected to a certified crisis counselor.