Josh Peck Responds to ‘Incredibly Difficult’ ‘Quiet on Set’ Doc: ‘I Reached Out to Drake Privately’
Josh Peck has shared his reaction to Investigation Discovery’s bombshell Quiet on Set: The Dark Side of Kids TV documentary detailing the alleged emotional and physical abuse child Nickelodeon stars suffered while working for Dan Schneider on shows like Drake & Josh, iCarly, The Amanda Show, and more. His statement comes after his former co-star Drake Bell detailed his own experiences of physical abuse at the hands of Nickelodeon employee Brian Peck (no relation to Josh) in the documentary.
“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,” Peck wrote on Instagram on March 21. “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.”
Quiet on Set is a three-part docuseries featuring first-person accounts from cast members of Schneider’s hit Nickelodeon shows, which in addition to the aforementioned series includes Kenal & Kel and Henry Danger. All involved allege that Schneider was too powerful to confront, no matter how badly he mistreated adults and children on set.
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The stories came from cast and crew members alike. Two women who worked with Schneider on The Amanda Show said in Episode 1 that they were forced to share salaries while male writers didn’t, and they said they were intentionally humiliated by Schneider at work on several occasions.
Episode 2 featured firsthand accounts from Bell, who opened up about being sexually assaulted by his dialogue coach, Brian, when he was about 15 years old. Brian was later convicted of child molestation in 2004, and Bell was the John Doe listed in the case (labeled John Doe due to being a minor at the time). Brian served 16 months in prison for his crimes.
Bell revealed in the documentary that Brian drove a wedge between him and his father before the assault, making himself a father figure in Bell’s life instead. Bell also stayed at Brian’s house regularly during this time.
“I was sleeping on a couch where I would usually sleep, and I woke up to him — I opened my eyes, I woke up and he was sexually assaulting me. And I froze and was in complete shock and had no idea what to do or how to react, and I had no idea how to get out of the situation,” he recalled. “I had no car. I didn’t drive. I was 15 at this time.”
“He figured out how to convince my mom … anytime I would have an audition or anytime I needed to work on dialogue or anything, I somehow ended up back at Brian’s house, and it just got worse and worse and worse and worse, and I was just trapped,” Drake continued. “I had no way out. The abuse was extensive. And it got pretty brutal.”
Brian tried to be cast as Bell’s dad in Drake & Josh. Bell revealed, “We ended up having to reshoot the pilot for Drake & Josh, and Brian was trying to get me to convince Dan [Schneider], that he should be the dad on the show. And I was like, ‘That is not gonna happen. You’re not going anywhere near this show.’”
If you or anyone you know has been a victim of sexual assault, help is available. Visit the Rape, Abuse & Incest National Network website or contact RAINN’s National Helpline at 1-800-656-HOPE (4673).
If you or anyone you know is struggling with addiction issues, help is available. Visit the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration website or contact SAMHSA’s National Helpline at 1-800-662-HELP (4357).
Quiet on Set: The Dark Side of Kids TV, Available Now, Max
