Drake Bell called out Will Friedle and Rider Strong for being two of the many famous actors to defend his abuser, Brian Peck, when the Nickelodeon dialogue coach faced jail time for his crimes.
Bell — who is set to break his silence on the abuse he allegedly experienced at the hands of Peck in a new docuseries — took to Instagram Thursday to respond to a series of fans commenting in support of the “Boy Meets World” co-stars.
“They were victims too,” one fan wrote under Nickelodeon alum Alexa Nikolas’ post criticizing Friedle, Strong and Danielle Fishel’s recent podcast episode, in which the two men alleged they had been groomed by Peck — seemingly using that as an excuse for why they backed him in court.
The fan added, “I listened to that entire podcast and they were manipulated by him just like anyone else. They feel awful. And they were minors. This isn’t black and white.”
Bell, 37, wrote in response, “Will was 27 years old and Brian told him what he did. Many people turned away and said no I won’t write a letter but they did. Will was not manipulated.”
He added in a separate comment that Strong was “24 years old when he wrote the letter and was told by Brian what he did,” reiterating that — like Friedle — the former child star “wrote the letter anyway.”
Bell also claimed Friedle has yet to personally apologize to him despite having an opportunity to do so.
“He worked with me on many episodes of [‘Ultimate Spider-Man’] years later and never said a word to me about it,” the “All That” actor claimed.
Bell then accused Friedle, 47, and Strong, 44, of speaking about their role in Peck’s case with a regretful tone on their Feb. 19 “Pod Meets World” episode for an ulterior motive.
The “iCarly” alum said he believed the letters were talked about because they will be discussed on Investigation Discovery’s “Quiet on the Set:…
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