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Why Did Drake Bell Decide To Check Himself Into A Rehab Before Filming For Quite On Set? Says He Was 'On-Edge'
The Drake and Josh alum opened up about his traumatizing experience on the Nickelodeon sets. The actor was hesitant but therapy finally allowed him to share his story! Learn more!
Trigger Warning: This article includes references to sexual abuse
Nickelodeon star Drake Bell opened up about his abuse, but it wasn’t easy!
Bell was allegedly abused by Nicklodeaon’s coach, Brian Peck, which had significantly impacted his personal life. The actor-musician was on edge about joining the docu-series Quiet On Set because of a previous experiment with another documentary.
Bell shared the “unbelievable” reaction he received when he denied being part of a previous documentary, which left him feeling guilty. He also talked about how therapy and rehab helped him come to terms with the assault incident.
Therapy allowed Bell to finally share his story
When the musician was approached for the docu-series, he revealed that he was deep into trauma therapy. "Your entire day was filled with working through and processing this with a clear mind and unearthing all of these things that I hadn’t faced head-on, or if I had tried to, it was too painful,” said The Found a Way singer.
“And so through that process, once I got out, I thought to myself, ‘Maybe this is a good time to reach back out to them and say, hey, I’m not 100 percent yet, let’s talk some more, but I’m getting closer to feeling comfortable with finally sharing my story,'” Bell said.
Drake Bell was hesitant to join the Quiet On Set docu-series
The actor appeared on The Sarah Fraser Show, where he talked in length about his decision to join the Quiet On Set and his initial hesitation. Talking in public about a personal incident years ago is a difficult call to make.
Bell was previously approached for a series in a similar format, but when he refused to participate, the creators blamed “people like him” for such incidents. They said that people like me were the problem, and this is why things aren’t gonna change in the industry because people like you won’t speak out and won’t come forward,” Bell said
It was just all this shaming of me not wanting to be a part of their documentary. So I’ve always been cautious and on edge whenever approached to talk about such a sensitive topic,” Bell concluded. He finally got on board to do Quiet On Set after a heartfelt and reflective conversation with one of the directors, Emma Schwartz, that made him more at ease.
Bell’s personal issues; sexual abuse
While people reached out to Bell to be a part of Quiet On Set, he was battling in his personal life with rehab and trauma therapy.
It was a shock to hear Bell’s story on the docu-series. The Drake and Josh alum shared his traumatising childhood experience of sexual abuse. He shared that the incident affected him and everyone around him, too.
Bell’s father, who felt responsible for the incident, also joined Quiet On Set, hoping to get a cathartic release from that chapter. “My dad is a very emotional guy, and he has such a big heart, and I was very cautious about involving him,” Bell said about his father.
He decided to involve his father because he thought, “Maybe it would be cathartic and beneficial for my dad to be able to do [it as well],” He added.
Impact of trauma; rehab and therapy
As an impact of childhood trauma, the actor fell into serious trouble, including child endangerment charges, rehab and serving jail time for DUI.
Fraser asked him whether he knew his trauma was partially responsible for these incidents, and he said, “It’s difficult. So, you’re battling with things that are being said about you that are completely false and untrue, but you’re being completely attacked for it,”
“But also juxtaposing that, I have to take responsibility and accountability because nobody grabbed my hand and forced me to do those things — I mean other than Brian,” Bell added.
“But the decisions that I made are mine and mine alone, and you know you have to process that and work through it, but it’s difficult at the same time when there’s so much misinformation and lies and things being said about you.”
The four-part docu-series Quiet On Set: The Dark Side of Kids TV aired last week on the Investigation Discovery website and is available to stream on Max.
If you need support or know someone who is struggling with domestic violence or assault or abuse, please reach out to your nearest mental health specialist, NGO or speak to someone about it. There are several helplines available for the same.
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