Drake Bell has confirmed that he has spoken to former Nickelodeon producer Dan Schneider since the release of the Quiet on Set docuseries. The former Nickelodeon star, 37, spoke for the first time about the sexual abuse he allegedly suffered at the hands of actor Brian Peck in the Investigation Discovery series, which aired in March. Quiet on Set also included interviews with other Nickelodeon stars, who pulled back the curtain to reveal a toxic underbelly of abuse, harassment, racism and sexism on the sets of shows led by TV executive Schneider.
Schneider has since filed a defamation lawsuit against the producers of Quiet on Set : The Dark Side of Kids TV accusing them of misleading viewers into thinking he was a child predator to increase ratings. In a new interview with NBC News’ Kate Snow, Bell said he’d spoken to Schneider. He responded to questions about the lawsuit by saying: “I get asked a lot about other things in the documentary.
I get asked about other stories that are coming out. And it’s really hard for me because I don’t want to take away from anybody’s stories.” Bell was also asked if his son, whom he shares with his ex-wife Janet Von Schmeling, was the reason he decided to come forward with his story of abuse.
“Yeah,” Bell said. “As he grows, my hope is that he’ll be able to say, ‘My dad did go through that, and the man that I know today is a hero to me.’” Bell alleged in the five-part series that he was abused by Peck, who had work.
