Drake Bell received social media sympathy from former Nickelodeon actor Devon Werkheiser, who walked back his jokes about the alleged sexual abuse the “Drake & Josh” star and other actors experienced on-set.
Werkheiser, star of “Ned’s Declassified,” offered Bell an apology on X (formerly Twitter) on Tuesday, writing that he was “gutted I hurt you.” Days after the bombshell “Quiet on Set” docuseries premiered, a clip of Werkheiser seemingly poking fun at the allegations of abuse and toxicity surrounding Dan Schneider and his sets went viral.
“Get back in your hole Daniel, and give me holes,” Werkheiser says in the video, “sorry we shouldn’t joke about this…Listen our set was not like that.”
He added: “It’s f— awful, the Drake Bell s—….is crazy to hear, that is f—, man. And that never came out, which is really wild.”
Werkheiser, 33, and his “Ned’s Declassified Podcast Survival Guide” co-hosts, including former co-star Lindsey Shaw, quickly faced backlash on X for “poking fun at the abuse” other actors allegedly faced on other Nickelodeon shows. While “Ned’s Declassified” aired on Nickelodeon, it was not produced by Schneider’s production company, which oversaw other hits including “iCarly,” “Victorious” and “All That.”
“They should be standing beside their peers even if their set was different,” wrote one X user, “Yuck.”
Alexa Nikolas, a former “Zoey 101” star and advocate for survivors of sexual abuse, wrote, “really sad and disturbing to see some other Nick stars joking around and cracking jokes around child sexual abuse on tiktok.”
Another X user defended Werkheiser, writing that the giggly TikTok clip was the “Ned’s” stars’ “coping mechanism” and their way to process the revelations from “Quiet on Set.”
Bell, however, had his own thoughts: “Ned’s Declassless,” he tweeted on Monday, reposting Werkheiser’s clip.
“This is wild…laught it up guys…laught it up…,” he wrote. “‘Give me your h*les?!!’ Really?!”
In “Quiet on Set,” Bell broke his silence on the alleged sexual abuse he faced from Nickelodeon dialogue coach Brian Peck. Bell had worked with Peck on the set of “All That” and “The Amanda Show.”
Peck was convicted of child abuse in 2004, but for years the victim’s identity remained unknown. Bell said in the docuseries that the dialogue coach “had pretty much worked his way into every aspect of my life.”
In response, Nickelodeon said in a statement, “we are dismayed and saddened to learn of the trauma he has endured, and we commend and support the strength required to come forward.”
Shortly after catching heat from both social media fans and Bell, Werkheiser acknowledged the impact of his comments and shared a statement.
“I feel horrible that my dumba— was even speaking about this without seeing it,” he wrote. “I watched Quiet on Set tonight and am horrified by the gravity of what Drake and others shared.”
He continued: “Truly heartbroken about what my fellow actors went through. I can’t believe they weren’t protected. I’m sorry for compounding any hurt.”
Bell has not acknowledged Werkheiser’s apology.
Investigation Discovery’s four-part “Quiet on Set” renewed interest and intrigue for the controversies surrounding Schneider’s TV legacy. On Tuesday, the producer released a nearly 20-minute video acknowledging the documentary and addressing a range of allegations. Schneider denied that he hired Peck to his set and teared up as he recalled helping Bell’s mother pen her speech for her testimony against the dialogue coach.
“That was probably the darkest part of my career,” he said.
Schneider concluded his video detailing what he could have done differently on his sets, from hiring a licensed therapist to advise young talent to changing “how I would treat people and everyone.”
“When I watched the [docuseries], I could see the hurt in some people’s eyes and it made me feel awful, and regretful and sorry,” he said. “I wish I could go back especially to those earlier years in my career and bring growth and the experience that I have now and just do a better job.”
First appeared on www.latimes.com