Drake Bell called out several “Ned’s Declassified School Survival Guide” alums for poking fun at the abuse allegations Nickelodeon child stars made in the new docuseries “Quiet on Set: The Dark Side of Kids TV.”
The comments from the “Survival Guide” stars — Devon Werkheiser, Lindsey Shaw and Daniel Curtis Lee — come on the heels of the “Drake & Josh” star opening up for the first time about the sexual abuse he suffered from Nickelodeon dialogue coach and convicted sex offender, Brian Peck, in the Investigation Discovery series.
In a post on X (formerly Twitter), Bell, 37, slammed the trio for joking about the allegations in a recent TikTok live for their podcast, Ned’s Declassified Podcast Survival Guide, which they launched last year.
“Ned’s Declassless…this is wild…laugh it up guys…laugh it up… ‘Give me your h*les?!!’ Really?!” Bell wrote on Monday alongside a screen recording of the TikTok live.
During the livestream, Werkheiser, 33, told his co-star Daniel Curtis Lee, who was offscreen, “Daniel, we told you never to speak about that. Get back in your hole, Daniel. And give me your holes.”
Werkheiser then added, “Sorry — we shouldn’t joke about this, we really shouldn’t.”
“This is awful. Why are we doing this?” Shaw, 34, chimed in as she stood behind Werkheiser.
“Cause this is about us — listen, our set was not like that,” Werkheiser replied. “And no, it’s fucking awful. The Drake Bell shit is — that’s crazy to hear… That is fucked man. And that never came out which is really wild. Really wild.”
After a fan commented that the three co-stars were “in on it,” Werkheiser responded with a laugh, adding, “I’m not talking about this anymore. Not talking about this anymore. Guys, we can’t joke like this, Jesus. Sometimes humor helps us move through things.”
On Tuesday, Werkheiser issued an apology to Bell on X.
“So sorry to Drake. Gutted I hurt you,” captioned his post alongside a screenshot of his apology statement.
“I was being an idiot today. No way around it. I feel horrible that my dumbass was even speaking about this without seeing it,” his statement read. “I watched Quiet on Set tonight and am horrified by the gravity of what Drake and others shared. Truly heartbroken about what my fellow actors went through. I can’t believe they weren’t protected. I’m sorry for compounding any hurt.”
Reps for Werkheiser, Shaw and Lee didn’t immediately respond to HuffPost’s requests for comment.
In “Quiet on the Set,” Bell, who appeared on 1999’s “The Amanda Show” and was later casted as a lead in 2004’s “Drake & Josh,” broke his silence on the repeated sexual abuse he endured at the hands of Peck as a teenager.
In August 2003, Peck was arrested on multiple charges relating to sexual abuse involving an unnamed minor, according to a press release from the Los Angeles Police Department.
The following year he was sentenced to 16 months in prison and ordered to register as a sex offender after he pleaded no contest to two counts of child sex abuse against the unnamed minor.
“Quiet on Set: The Dark Side of Kids TV,” which uncovers “the toxic and dangerous culture behind some of the most iconic children’s shows of the late 1990s and early 2000s,” is streaming on Max.
Need help? Visit RAINN’s National Sexual Assault Online Hotline or the National Sexual Violence Resource Center’s website.