"Quiet on Set: The Dark Side of Children's Television" quickly emerged as a highly acclaimed documentary, widely considered a must-see.
The project presents first-hand testimonies from former child actors and crew members, revealing issues such as abusive work environments, sexism and cases of sexual misconduct.
Among the accounts, the actor Drake Bell bravely shared his experience of being sexually assaulted by a former Nickelodeon dialogue coach Brian Peck.
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Drake Bell tells his story for the first time
"You know, whenever I had an audition, or whenever I had to work on dialogue or whatever, I kind of ended up back at Brian's house," Bell said of his experience working with Peck, clarifying that Peck is not related to his former associate. -star, Josh Peck “I was sleeping on the couch where I would normally sleep, and I woke up in front of him, I opened my eyes, I woke up, and he was sexually assaulting me. me."
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"And I was frozen and in complete shock and I had no idea what to do or how to react, and I had no idea how to get out of the situation," he added.
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Reflections on 'Quiet On Set'
Although he described the process as a "rollercoaster," the former Nickelodeon star acknowledged the power of sharing his story.
"Just because I think, it's helped, publicizing, publicizing, publicizing my story, and it's really great that people are reaching out to me," Bell said on "The Sarah Fraser Show." “When I'm at the airport or wherever I meet and greet and so on and share their stories and how, how the stories help them.”
He continued: “But still, at the end of the day, I mean, it's not just because I put it in a documentary that it's not going to go away. It's something I'll live with for the rest of my life.”
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Drake Bell once hired a producer to impersonate him
Bell also shared the story of hiring a producer who previously portrayed him.
"It's a strange situation," he admitted, recounting how the impersonator's exceptional talent eventually evolved into a joint partnership. "But the artist in me is like listening to what he's doing and he was really good."
Bell turned the tables and offered a suggestion: “How about you ask me for permission to use my stuff, but we can do some original stuff together.” Fraser said, discussing Bell's decision to hire the hacker, drawing parallels to similar tactics used by the US government.
He compared it to “Catch me if you can. It's White Collar.”
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Drake Bell on Nickelodeon's Response to 'Quiet On Set'
Following the documentary's release, the former Nickelodeon star spoke out about her views on the network's handling of the allegations.
"There's a very well-tailored response that says, 'Learning about his trauma,' because they couldn't say they didn't know about this or what happened, or whatever," he said. The Sarah Fraser Show podcast. "So I think that was a really well-tailored response from probably some big-name lawyer in Hollywood."
"I find their answers pretty hollow because, I mean, they're still showing our shows, they're still showing our shows," he continued. “And I have to pay for my therapy, I have to figure out what — I think if there was anything, if there was any truth behind them actually caring, it would be more than a quote on a page by an apparently legal representative telling them exactly how to adjust the response. ”
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What was Nickelodeon's response?
The network released a statement following the documentary, which some felt was a subpar response.
"While we cannot confirm or deny allegations of conduct dating back decades, Nickelodeon as a matter of policy investigates all formal complaints as part of our commitment to fostering a safe and professional work environment free of harassment or other types of inappropriate behavior," Nickelodeon said in a statement.
"Our highest priorities are the welfare and best interests of not only our employees, cast and crew, but all children, and we have adopted numerous safeguards over the years to ensure we live up to our own high standards and the expectations of our audiences."
If you or someone you know has been sexually assaulted, help is available. Call 800-656-HOPE (4673) or visit an officer National Sexual Assault Hotline website to talk to a sexual assault service provider.
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