Ready to move on, Drake Bell says he has forgiven Boy Meets World star Rider Strong for supporting his abuser Brian Peck.
In ID’s documentary Quiet on Set, the Drake and Josh star revealed he was sexually abused by Peck. The former dialogue coach was employed by Nickelodeon.
Peck had been arrested in 2003 on charges of a lewd act against a child and oral copulation of a person under 16. During the trial, Strong was among the multiple celebrities to stand up for Peck. He even wrote a letter to the judge asking for leniency. Pack was sentenced to 16 months in prison for his crime.
Before his appearance in the documentary, which focused on the mental and sexual abuse on sets of former famed producer Dan Schneider, Drake Bell hadn’t disclosed that he was the child at the center of Peck’s legal woes.
Weeks after the documentary made its debut, Bell said he spoke to Strong. “I just had the most amazing conversation with [Rider Strong],” Bell stated on X (formerly Twitter). “We are all healing together. I have nothing but love and forgiveness for him.”
Fans quickly responded to Drake Bell’s message with praise. “Very glad you’re getting the apologies and healing you need/deserve,” one fan wrote.
Another added, “I’m so glad to hear this. I hope you got a true apology and can gain some form of closure through healing and talking with him. Wishing you all the best.”
Rider Strong Spoke Out About His Support for Brian Peck Before ‘Quiet on Set’ Premiered
In the weeks leading up to the premiere of Quiet on Set, Rider Strong and his Boy Meets World co-star Will Friedle discussed previously supporting Brian Peck.
Strong claimed that Peck didn’t say that nothing had happened. “By the time we heard about this case and knew anything about it, it was always in the context of, ‘I did this thing, I am guilty.’” Strong said during a February episode of the Pod Meets World podcast.
“’I am going to take whatever punishment the government determines, but I’m a victim of jailbait. There was this hot guy! I just did this thing and he was underage.’”
Strong admitted that he and Friedle bought Peck’s storyline. “I never heard about the other things because, back then, you couldn’t Google to find out what people were charged with,” Strong continued.
“So in retrospect, he was making a plea deal and admitting one thing – which is all he admitted to us – but it looks like he was being charged with a series of crimes, which we did not know.”
However, Drake Bell stated that Rider Strong was aware of what happened. “RIDER WAS 24 years old when he wrote the letter,” Bell wrote in a post made by fellow Nickelodeon alum, Alexa Nikolas. “And was told by Brian what he did. He wrote the letter anyway.”