James Marsden & More Stars Revealed Signing Brian Peck Letters of Support, "Devastated" Drake Bell | THR News Video
James Marsden and 'Boy Meets World' stars were among those who wrote letters in support of Nickelodeon's Brian Peck. Court documents from the former Nickelodeon employee and convicted sex offender's trial — including the 41 letters in support — were unsealed for the first time in nearly 20 years for the docuseries 'Quiet on Set: The Dark Side of Kids TV.' At the time, the identity of the child actor who was abused by Peck was unknown publicly, however in the third episode of the series, actor Drake Bell came forward, revealing he was the child in question.
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00:00 James Marsden and Boy Meets World stars were among those who wrote letters in support of
00:04 Nickelodeon's Brian Peck. Court documents from the former Nickelodeon employee and convicted
00:10 sex offenders trial, including the 41 letters of support, were unsealed for the first time
00:15 in nearly 20 years for the docuseries Quiet on Set, the dark side of kids TV. At the time,
00:21 the identity of the child actor who was abused by Peck was unknown publicly. However, in the
00:26 third episode of the series, actor Drake Bell came forward, revealing he was the child in question.
00:31 His entire side of the courtroom was full.
00:37 Full. There were definitely some recognizable faces on that side of the room.
00:46 In total, 41 people wrote letters of support for Peck, which are used to influence the judge
00:51 during sentencing. Among the recognizable names that voiced their support towards Peck were Ron
00:56 Melendez, Alan Thicke, James Marsden, Ryder Strong, Wilfred L, and Bell's former The Amanda
01:03 Show co-star Taron Killam. In his letter, Marsden noted that he'd known Peck for 14 years.
01:09 "I assure you what Brian has been through in the last year is the suffering of a hundred men,"
01:13 Killam wrote in his letter. "I've seen the effects this situation has had on Brian,
01:18 and I know for a fact that he regrets any mistakes made."
01:21 In February, Strong and Friedle commented on the situation on their Boy Meets World podcast, saying,
01:27 "In telling me what happened and instantly spinning it to where it wasn't his fault,
01:31 it was clearly the fault of his victim. My initial instinct because of the years
01:34 I'd been working with him was, 'Well, yeah, of course, it can't be you.'"
01:38 Strong added, "It was always in the context of, 'I did this thing, I'm guilty, I'm going to take
01:43 whatever punishment the government determines. But I'm a victim of jailbait. There was this hot guy,
01:48 I just did this thing, and he's underage.'"
01:50 In an Instagram post made by former Zoey 101 star Alexa Nicholas,
01:54 who also appears on Quiet on Set, she addressed the Boy Meets World cast letter, saying,
01:59 "You cared more about Hollywood, Pizzagate, and Boy Meets World than a child that was
02:03 molested by someone you defended and never apologized to."
02:07 Bell himself replied to a comment on the post, which was since deleted, writing,
02:11 "Many people turned away and said no, I won't write a letter. But Friedle and Strong did."
02:16 Nickelodeon's Ned's Declassified School Survival Guide star Devin Workshire also apologized to Bell
02:22 after facing backlash on social media for comments he made about the actor on TikTok.
02:27 Bell shot back on "X," writing, "Ned's declassless."
02:31 For much more details on this story, including Dan Schneider's response to the allegations,
02:36 and a video exclusively obtained by The Hollywood Reporter, head to THR.com.
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