Will Friedle and Rider Strong continue to set the record straight on their relationship with Brian Peck—and how their opinions have changed since publication Silence on the set.
In their June 20 episode The floor meets the world podcast — which they host with their A boy meets the world actress Danielle Fishel — Friedle, 47, said he’s “still processing” everything he’s learned about his former friend since the Investigation Discovery docuseries premiered in March.
“It will be for life [journey of] processing for me, yes. I knew I had lied and manipulated Brian, basically, from the courtroom, but you didn’t know how much until you saw the documentary,” Friedle said. “And then I really didn’t know how much until I talked to Drake [Bell].”
Peck appeared as a guest star on A boy meets the world season 5, and was someone both Friedle and Strong, 44, considered “friends” for several years. When Silence on the set aired, and Bell, 37, accused Peck of sexual assault, resulting in the former Nickelodeon executive’s arrest and subsequent 16-month prison sentence, A boy meets the world the stars’ previous support for Peck was also revealed.
Both wrote letters advocating for Peck — something they acknowledged on their podcast in February — and Bell called them out on Instagram, claiming that Friedle “wasn’t manipulated” into writing the letter of support, but was, in fact, aware of the abuse he suffered and still supported Peck.
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Recalling the trial, Friedle said he was “sitting in the back of the courtroom. No social media. I’m 26 at the time. I don’t watch Nickelodeon, I don’t know who Drake Bell is.”
“I see a kid walk into a courtroom and I’m like, okay, I’ve been lied to. Automatically, I know that.”
Fishel, 43, added that none of them knew “who the victim was until the documentary aired.”
“Will, who was in the courtroom, never saw Drake on the TV show when he was in the courtroom. His name was never said in the courtroom. He was John Doe, or whatever they used.”
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Will Friedle and Rider Strong attend the 2022 iHeartRadio Wango Tango at Dignity Health Sports Park on June 4, 2022 in Carson, California.
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After watching the documentary, which Strong called “devastating”, he said he felt “a lot of regret and shame” for the “pain” Bell had experienced – and began to “pick apart the lies” Peck had fed him.
“I just fell into this hole. And, yeah, I mean, I’m not quite out of it yet,” he said. “There’s also so much cognitive dissonance that it’s someone you considered a friend, someone you loved.”
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“I mean, I met Brian when I was 13. So this is now when I’m 24. He’s telling me that story, and [he says], here’s how you can help me. And all you have to do is write this letter and, you know, it’s just a one-time thing,” he continued, adding that Peck was “so in denial” about the claims.
“There was no research, though. That’s the thing. I asked the questions. I sat with him,” Friedle said. “He had an answer for everything. And we bought him. I mean, Rider’s right—no excuses. We bought him, hook, line, and sinker, from this guy who crept into our lives.”
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Drake Bell, Josh Peck, Amanda Bynes, Nancy Sullivan in ‘The Amanda Show (1999). Nickelodeon Network/ Courtesy: Everett Collection
Friedle and Strong have since reached out to Bell, who Strong said was “so impressed” and felt he had to “reach out to him,” both to “obviously apologize, but also just hope that on some way to reduce his burden” by repeating that he was “completely misinformed” at the time.
“I talked to him on the phone and it was just an instant connection, an instant forgiveness,” Strong recalled. – It was simply incredible.
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Friedle had a similar experience with Drake & Josh star. “The conversation with Drake was amazing, for many reasons. It was horrible for many reasons. It was healing for many reasons. He started the conversation by telling me, before you say a word, I want you to know that I love you and I forgive you.”
If you or someone you know has been sexually assaulted, contact the National Sexual Assault Hotline at 1-800-656-HOPE (4673) or go to rainn.org.
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