Drake Bell will not "fall back" on his past traumas to excuse hurting others.
Drake Bell has refused to use his past traumas as an excuse for his own behaviour
The 37-year-old actor - who in June 2021 accepted a plea agreement for charges of attempted child endangerment and disseminating matter harmful to juveniles after sending his “reckless and irresponsible text messages” to an underage fan - recently identified himself as the plaintiff in a case which had seen Nickelodeon dialect coach Brian Peck sentenced to jail time in 2004 over sexual assault on a minor.
But now, the former 'Drake and Josh' star - who shot to fame on Nickelodeon alongside Amanda Bynes on 'The Amanda Show' before landing his own sitcom alongside Josh Peck (no relation) in 2004 - has insisted that he would never rely on his own childhood trauma to excuse his behaviour.
Speaking on People's 'Man Enough' podcast, he said: "Some people have asked if it was a moment of weakness...no! Even in moments of weakness, you need to be able to discern and recognise. You can’t just blame a moment of weakness of why you got in your car when you were drunk and you crashed into somebody and hurt them.
'Oh it was just a moment of weakness' or 'I was really sad that day, I was really upset, something had happened in my life and that's what caused it...
"Even though we have had these traumas and we’ve had things that we’ve experienced, I hate to say, ‘Oh, that’s why,’ because that’s not going to help me move forward and change my behaviour.
"That's not gonna help me recognise when I feel like making a decision that might harm someone else or harm myself. That I can just fall back on feeling like it was all a moment of weakness."
At the time, Drake was sentenced to two years of probation and 200 hours of community service.
His comments on his own behaviour just weeks after he appeared on the new documentary 'Quiet on Set: The Dark Side of Kids TV', where he opened up about the "extensive and brutal" he suffered during his time as a teen star.
Recalling the abuse, Bell said: "Brian and I became really close because we had a lot of the same interests, which looking back, I think that was probably a little calculated.
"I was sleeping on the couch where I usually sleep and I woke up to him... I opened my eyes and I woke up and he was…he was sexually assaulting me,
"And I froze, and was in complete shock and had no idea what to do or how to react.
"You know anytime I had 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. I had no way out. The abuse was extensive and it got pretty brutal."
The docuseries aired on March 17 and March 18, and executives at the children's network have claimed that they are "dismayed and saddened" to learn of the situation now that Drake has disclosed his identity.
In a statement, Nickelodeon said: "Now that Drake Bell had disclosed his identity as the plaintiff in the 2004 case, we are dismayed and saddened to learn of the trauma he has endured, and we commend and support the strength required to come forward."
Tagged in Amanda Bynes Josh Peck Drake Bell