Drake Bell defends Josh Peck over backlash to viral video amid Nickelodeon allegations

21 March 2024, 13:02

Drake Bell confirms Josh Peck has reached out to him following backlash

By Katie Louise Smith

Josh was hit with backlash after he posted a TikTok video that many thought might have been aimed at Drake.

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Drake Bell has come to the defence of former friend and former co-star Josh Peck after Josh was hit with a barrage of backlash regarding his 'silence' in the wake of the allegations made in the Quiet On Set Nickelodeon docuseries.

In the docuseries, which alleges several counts of inappropriate behaviour and abuse on various Nickelodeon shows, Drake identified himself as the unnamed minor in the 2004 sexual assault conviction of former Nickelodeon dialogue coach Brian Peck, opening up about the sexual abuse for the first time. (Josh and Brian are not related.)

Around the same time that the episodes were released, Josh, who co-starred in Drake & Josh with Drake from 2004 to 2007, posted a TikTok video lip-syncing along to a viral sound which says: "If I haven’t talked to you since 2023, take that as a f*cking sign that you don’t exist to me anymore."

Fans immediately began questioning why he posted the video and why he used that specific sound. They also asked why he had not yet commented or shown support for Drake.

Drake Bell has confirmed Josh Peck has reached out to him in the wake of Nickelodeon allegations. Picture: @drakebell via TikTok, @joshpeck via TikTok

In the comments of Josh's TikTok, fans began writing, "Ok but have you talked to Drake?" and "Interesting timing..." Others also began speculating whether the clip was aimed at Drake because they have both confirmed that they are no longer friends.

Now, in the wake of the building backlash and negative comments, Drake has come to Josh's defence and has confirmed that he reached out to Drake with a supportive message.

In a TikTok, Drake addressed the situation, saying: "I’ve noticed a lot of comments on some of Josh’s TikToks and some of his posts and I just want to let you guys know that processing this and going through this is a really emotional time and a lot of it is very, very difficult."

He continued: "So not everything is put out to the public, but I just want you guys to know that he has reached out to me, and it’s been very sensitive."

"But he has reached out to talk with me and help me work through this and has been really, really great. So I just wanted to let you guys know that and to take it a little easy on him," he added.

Josh Peck goes viral in new TikTok

Shortly after Drake posted his video, Josh released a statement on Instagram about the docuseries and Drake's comments.

He wrote: "I finished the Quiet On Set documentary and took a few days to process it. I reached out to Drake privately, but want to give my support for the survivors who were brave enough to share their stories of emotional and physical abuse on Nickelodeon sets with the world."

"Children should be protected. Reliving this publicly is incredibly difficult, but I hope it can bring healing for the victims and their families as well as necessary change to our industry."

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A post shared by Josh Peck (@shuapeck)

Are Drake and Josh still friends?

The status of Drake and Josh's current relationship has been widely spoken about online. They are no longer friends, as both of them have discussed their relationship on their respective podcasts.

In 2022, Josh spoke about the drama that unfolded after he said Drake confronted him about not being invited to his wedding. Talking about it on an episode of the BFFs Podcast with Dave Portnoy and Josh Richards, he said: "So, we have this small wedding and the dirty little secret, I guess, was like, I knew Drake and I didn't stay in touch for the 10 years since we made the show. But no one needed to know that."

"I was happy to just die with that secret, we made this thing that people really love but maybe we weren't that close so I didn't invite him to my wedding 'cause I hadn't really talked to him in many, many years," he continued.

Drake responded in an interview with People, saying: "I was caught off guard. I hadn’t heard of anything about it. He’s been my best friend for 18 years. In all honesty, we talk all the time, we’ve been talking."