Drake Bell Admits He Felt Pressure After Leaving Nickelodeon

Former Nickelodeon star Drake Bell not too long ago opened up concerning the strain he and his co-star, Josh Peck, felt to be accountable younger adults after their present concluded in 2007.

Bell, who rose to fame starring in productions like “Drifting College” and “House Enchancment,” joined the Nickelodeon household in 1999 when he was forged in “The Amanda Present.” After that, the actor transitioned to different exhibits on the community, like “All That” and his present with Peck, “Drake & Josh.”

Throughout a candid interview about life after his hit tv present, which aired 4 seasons and 56 episodes from 2004 to 2007, Drake Bell defined that he discovered adjusting to the actual world tough, contemplating he wasn’t taught about sure matters when he was youthful.

In an interview with PEOPLE, Bell defined that navigating life after his tv present resulted in 2007 was a problem.

At 21, the actor struggled to determine which route to take as a result of he did not have anybody directing him.

“You are thrust to the world, and nobody’s telling you what to do,” Bell, now 38, said. “You are thrown to the wolves, and also you’re anticipated to make the proper choices, do the proper issues with none steering.”

Bell revealed that he and his “Drake & Josh” co-star, Peck, who additionally appeared in “The Amanda Present” and “All That,” felt required to “be good position fashions” for the younger viewers who watched them. Consequently, this precipitated a lot “stress” for the performer, who then defined he was nonetheless determining life for himself.

“You are like, ‘Whoa, I do not even know … do I purchase material softener? Does that go within the washer?’ It’s important to know all the things about taxes, financial institution accounts, automotive loans, insurance coverage, mortgage funds, and [rent]. I do not know what I am doing!” he stated.

Though they co-starred of their eponymous present on Nickelodeon collectively, Bell and Peck skilled their very own challenges as buddies. Previously, Bell sparked controversy after revealing Peck hadn’t invited him to his wedding ceremony to Paige O’Brien.

Nevertheless, he cleared issues up throughout a earlier interview and stated he believed life acquired in the way in which of their friendship earlier than revealing they communicate “rather a lot.”

“Each of us turning into fathers has had a big impact on our relationship,” he stated. “We maintain a really particular place in one another’s hearts. We do have an unbelievable love for one another.”

Within the 2024 Investigation Discovery documentary “Quiet on Set,” former Nickelodeon stars opened up about their alleged experiences of abuse, racism, and mistreatment on Dan Schnieder’s units. The latter is understood for creating a number of standard kids’s tv exhibits, together with “Zoey 101,” “iCarly,” and, after all, “Drake & Josh.”

Bell was one of many victims who shared their expertise, and in a single interview, the actor detailed a second to producers the place he felt “trapped” and “had no manner out.”

“I used to be sleeping on the sofa the place I might often sleep. I woke as much as [Brian Peck, a convicted sex offender who used to work for the network in the early 2000s] — I opened my eyes, I wakened, and he was sexually assaulting me. I froze and was in full shock and had no concept what to do or tips on how to react, and I do not know tips on how to get out of this case,” Bell, who was 15 on the time of the incident, stated within the documentary.

“The abuse was intensive, and it acquired fairly brutal. I don’t know tips on how to elaborate on that on digital camera, actually,” he stated. “Why don’t you consider the worst stuff that somebody might do to anyone as a sexual assault, after which I’ll reply your query. I don’t understand how else to place it.”

After the documentary aired in March 2024, Peck initially stayed silent, which many introduced consideration to, contemplating their earlier dispute. Nevertheless, after noticing the damaging pushback, Bell advised his followers that Peck reached out to him to supply assist. He additionally reminded his followers that processing the data “may be very, very tough.”

“However I simply need you guys to know that he has reached out to me, and it’s been very delicate. However he has reached out to speak with me and assist me work via this. And has been actually, actually nice. So simply needed to allow you to guys know that and to take it slightly simple on him,” he completed.

Weeks later, Peck made a public assertion and defined that he “reached out to Drake privately” after ending the documentary. He ended by providing his “assist” to the survivors “who have been courageous sufficient to share their tales of emotional and bodily abuse on Nickelodeon units.”