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Drake Bell revealed that he has forgiven Rider Strong for his past support of the Nickelodeon star’s convicted abuser, Brian Peck.
After being convicted of sexually abusing a child in 2004, Peck was sentenced to 16 months in prison and ordered to register as a sex offender. Last month, Bell, now 37, publicly identified himself as the victim in the case.
Last month, Bell called out Strong, 44, for being among the actors who wrote letters of support for Peck during the former acting and dialogue coach’s trial. However, “The Amanda Show” alum shared an update on his relationship with Strong on Friday.
“I just had the most amazing conversation with @RiderStrong we are all healing together. I have nothing but love and forgiveness for him,” Bell wrote on X, formerly Twitter.
Drake Bell revealed that he has forgiven Rider Strong for supporting the Nickelodeon star’s convicted abuser Brian Peck. (Getty)
Bell broke his silence in the Investigation Discovery docuseries “Quiet on Set: The Dark Side of Kids TV,” which premiered last month.
NICKELODEON STAR DRAKE BELL BLASTS ‘BOY MEETS WORLD’ STARS FOR SUPPORTING ABUSER IN PAST TRIAL
The docuseries shared unsealed court documents from Peck’s trial, which contained letters supporting the convicted sex offender from Strong and his “Boy Meets World” co-star Will Friedle as well as other actors including James Marsden, Taran Killam, and the late Alan Thicke.
Alex Nikolas, a fellow Nickelodeon child star and participant in the documentary, shared a post on Instagram slamming Strong and Friedle, and Bell replied to fans’ comments implying they were victims of Peck as well.
Bell identified himself as Peck’s victim in the “Quiet on Set: The Dark Side of Kids TV” documentary. (Christopher Polk)
“RIDER WAS 24 years old when he wrote the letter and was told by Brian what he did. He wrote the letter anyway,” Bell wrote in a series of comments that have since been deleted.
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In a separate reply, he wrote, “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,” Bell wrote. “Will was not manipulated. Brian admitted it to him and he wrote the letter anyway.”
“Then he [Friedle] worked with me on many many episodes of [‘Ultimate Spider-Man’] years later and never said a word to me about it,” Bell continued. “This is because they were told there letters are going to be made public. Everyone thought the letters would be sealed forever and no one would ever see them. This is their publicist telling them how to get ahead of the story.”
Peck was convicted of a lewd act against a child and oral copulation of a person under 16 in 2003. He spent 16 months in prison. (Albert L. Ortega)
Last month, Friedle and Strong addressed their support of Peck on their podcast, “Pod Meets World,” ahead of the release of details about the “Quiet on Set” documentary.
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“There’s no way I could have been manipulated like this because I was an adult,” Friedle said. “By the time I had heard what had happened, I had known this man for years and years, had no idea that any of this was going on, obviously, and the idea that now at 24 or whatever I was, 24 or 25 when I found out about it – that I didn’t know, couldn’t spot it – that was a failure of my own.”
Strong remembered Peckadmitting to the crime but spinning the assault so that it appeared as though Peck was the victim.
Friedle and Strong discussed the challenging emotions surrounding their friendship with convicted child abuser Brian Peck during an episode of their podcast last month. (Getty Images)
“It was always in the context of, ‘I did this thing, I am guilty. I am going to take whatever punishment the government determines, but I’m a victim of jailbait. There was this hot guy. I just did this thing, and he’s underage.’ And we bought that storyline,” Strong said.
Peck was accused of molesting a child in 2003 and was later charged with eight counts of sexual abuse.
Bell was referred to as “John Doe” throughout the investigation and trial. Peck was convicted of a lewd act against a child and oral copulation of a person under the age of 16.
Fox News Digital’s Elizabeth Stanton contributed to this report.
Ashley Hume is an entertainment writer for Fox News Digital. Story tips can be sent to ashley.hume@fox.com and on Twitter: @ashleyhume
