Devon Werkheiser of Ned’s Declassified School Survival Guide apologized to Drake Bell for what appeared to be a mockery of the Quiet on Set documentary, which Bell used to describe his mistreatment. The 33-year-old is apologizing for seemingly making fun of the documentary series Quiet on Set: The Dark Side of Kids TV, which documents the alleged harsh working conditions under Nickelodeon producer Dan Schneider and the sexual abuse Drake Bell endured.
Lindsay Shaw and Daniel Curtis Lee are also Ned’s Declassified School Survival Guide alums. He said, “I was being an idiot today,” in a statement sent to X, the platform that used to be known as Twitter, on March 19. There is no avoiding it. It hurts so much that my idiot even brought up this subject without realizing it. I was appalled by the seriousness of what Drake and others shared when I saw Quiet on Set today. I’m genuinely devastated by what my fellow actors had to endure. It’s unbelievable that they weren’t shielded. I apologize if I caused further harm.”
“Sorry to Drake,” Werkheiser wrote as a caption for the image. I’m gutted that I wounded you.” Only a few hours after Werkheiser’s statements were retweeted by Bell, who called him out, the former child star issued an apology. Werkheiser wrote, “Ned’s Declassless…” on the screen recording of his remarks.This is crazy.Guys, let’s laugh it off. Really? “Get back in your hole, Daniel,” Werkheiser yelled to his former co-star on a TikTok livestream. The video has since been widely shared on social media, sparking anger. Werkheiser then proceeded with a vulgar joke.
“Sorry, we shouldn’t joke about this,” he said, drawing a comparison between his and the Drake & Josh star’s experiences with Nickelodeon. Really, we ought not to. Hear me out: that was not how our set was. And no, it’s absolutely horrible. It’s strange to learn about the Drake Bell s–t.” In the documentary Quiet on Set, Bell, now 37, reveals that she was the previously unidentified child convicted of Brian Peck’s 2004 sexual assault. Peck was employed as an acting and dialogue coach for the second season of the network series All That.
“Now that Drake Bell has disclosed his identity as the plaintiff in the 2004 case, we are dismayed and saddened to learn of the trauma he has endured, and we commend and support the strength required to come forward,” Nickelodeon said in a statement to NBC News regarding Bell’s decision to break his silence. The documentary, which features numerous interviews detailing the experiences of those working on different Nickelodeon shows in the 1990s and 2000s, includes the story of the Amanda Show alum. Schneider is at the center of the dispute.
Schneider’s producer and writership was concerned about the welfare of the kids on his shows, a long statement from Schneider’s representative informed E! News before to the documentary’s premiere. “He understood what they were going through and he was their biggest champion,” said the statement. “The fact is many of the kids on these shows are put in the untenable position of becoming the breadwinner for their family and the pressure that comes along with that.”
“Add to that the challenges of growing up and having to do so under the spotlight while working a demanding job, all as a child,” the note said. Because of this, there are several standards for managers, attorneys, educators, and parents, and these standards apply to all of these groups and situations at all times. However, Dan was the best person to understand that it is still a difficult environment to be a child.”
Continue reading to learn about some of the major secrets revealed in Quiet on Set. Drake Bell Claims He Was Abused Sexually When He Was 15 Drake Bell revealed for the first time in the ID series that he had been sexually molested by Brian Peck, saying, “I’ve never talked about this outside of therapy.” Because the Drake & Josh actor decided not to go into depth on camera, the series uses graphics from the official allegations against Peck, a dialogue and acting instructor who also featured in bit roles like “Pickle Guy” on All That, to illustrate the scope of the abuse.
“The abuse was extensive and it got pretty brutal,” Bell stated. He was told by a producer (who is heard but not seen) to only disclose information that he felt comfortable sharing, to which he responded, “Why don’t you consider what constitutes the greatest possible sexual assault that someone could commit? That will address your question. There is no other way for me to say it.”
According to sentencing documents reviewed by E! News, Peck, now 63, was arrested in August 2003 and ultimately sentenced to 16 months in prison in October 2004 after entering a plea of not guilty to two counts of oral copulation of a person under 16 and lewd act upon a child 14 or 15 by a person 10 years older. In addition, he had to register as a sexual offender.
Peck was contacted by E! News for comment, but they did not respond. According to a statement issued by Nickelodeon, “Now that Drake Bell has disclosed his identity as the plaintiff in the 2004 case, we are dismayed and saddened to learn of the trauma he has endured, and we commend and support the strength required to come forward.” Drake Bell Explains How Brian Peck Found Him by Himself
Bell claimed that Peck deliberately strained his relationship with his manager father Joe Bell (who also features in the ID series and supports his son’s story) in order to gain more time with the teenager. The teen was previously cast in a recurring role on The Amanda Show before being offered a sitcom of his own, Drake & Josh, in 2004.
Bell claimed that Peck would take him to auditions and have him stay the night since it would be too late to drive him home. Bell related how, one night, he woke up on the couch—where he claimed to sleep every night—and Peck was abusing him sexually. “I froze and was in complete shock and had no idea what to do or how to react,” Bell stated, “and I had no idea how to get out of the situation.”
He remembered Peck expressing regret, but the abuse persisted, according to Bell, who said he kept it a secret from everyone, even when his then-girlfriend’s mother noticed something was off and brought him to a therapist. Admittedly, he thought his career would end if he said anything.
He claimed that once he “exploded” and told his mother everything, she phoned the police right away. Bell claimed that after forcing him to provide a “excruciatingly detailed” account of the abuse, the police had him call Peck and demand a confession while listening in. Bell claimed that Peck “just started a full-on confession,” and on August 20, 2003, he was taken into custody.
In Quiet on Set, Bell also mentioned how Dan Schneider, the creator and executive producer of Drake & Josh and The Amanda Show, reached out to him right away to see if he needed anything and generally supported him following Peck’s arrest.
Apart from that, Bell said, he didn’t hear anything from anyone he worked with, either because they were unaware of it or “because it’s a really sensitive subject.” “Dan was really the only person I can truly recall supporting me. Regretfully, I was left on my own and had no therapy, which is probably not the ideal thing for someone that age.”
For many years, Bell’s case’s documents were kept under seal. However, after they were opened, those with an interest could discover who penned the 41 support letters that Peck’s legal team submitted before to his 2004 sentence.
Journalist Kate Taylor of Business Insider, whose 2022 investigative story revealing charges of wrongdoing against Schneider triggered the ID series, claims that no one from Nickelodeon, including Schneider, issued a letter. Co-director of the show Mary Robertson told Vanity Fair, “We wrote Kate a bit of a love letter and then said that we would love to partner and expand upon her already incredible reporting.”
James Marsden, Taran Killam from Saturday Night Live, Will Friedle and Rider Strong from Boy Meets World, and the parents of Growing Pains, Alan Thicke and Joanna Kerns, were among those who did write letters.
As his letter was cited in the series, Marsden stated that he had known Peck for 14 years—he appeared in small roles in X-Men from 2000 and X2 from 2003—and that “what Brian has been through in the last year is the suffering of a hundred men.” According to the series, Killam, who had appearances on Drake & Josh and The Amanda Show, said of Peck, “I know for a fact that he regrets any mistakes made.”
