Josh Peck Likes Cryptic Message After Drake Bell Comments

Josh Peck has liked an enigmatic social media post following backlash over his response to Quiet on Set: The Dark Side of Kids TV.

The Investigation Discovery docuseries examined the accusations surrounding Dan Schneider. The producer and screenwriter created some of Nickelodeon's biggest shows in the 1990s and 2000s, including The Amanda Show, Drake & Josh, Zoey 101, Victorious, iCarly and Ned's Declassified School Survival Guide.

However, the children's channel fired Schneider in 2018 following allegations of sexual misconduct. Both former child stars and adult employees have since come forward to accuse Schneider of bullying and fostering a sexist and racist work culture.

Although Peck was not featured in Quiet on Set, his former Drake & Josh co-star, Drake Bell, made an appearance. The 37-year-old detailed the alleged sexual abuse he suffered at the hands of his former vocal coach, Brian Peck, for the first time in the show's third episode, "Close to the Sun."

Josh Peck suffered fierce backlash following Quiet on Set's debut, with viewers slamming the actor for not speaking out on the claims of behind-the-scenes abuse revealed in the docuseries.

The 37-year-old later responded to the uproar on Instagram, offering support to "survivors who were brave enough to share their stories of emotional and physical abuse on Nickelodeon sets with the world.

"Children should be protected," Peck wrote. "Reliving this publicly is incredibly difficult, but I hope it can bring healing for the victims and their families as well as necessary change to our industry."

On Tuesday, Peck liked a cryptic post on X, formerly Twitter, discussing stoicism.

According to the Oxford English Dictionary, stoicism is defined as "the endurance of pain or hardship without the display of feelings and without complaint."

The post reads: "Stoicism reminds us of how unpredictable the world can be, how brief our moments of life are, how to be steadfast, strong, and in control of ourselves, and that the source of dissatisfaction lies in our impulsive dependency on our reflexive senses rather than logic."

Newsweek has reached out to Drake Bell and Josh Peck for comment via email.

What Did Drake Bell Reveal About the Sexual Abuse He Suffered While at Nickelodeon?

Bell and Josh Peck starred in the popular Nickelodeon sitcom Drake & Josh. Airing from 2004 until 2007, the show followed two teenage stepbrothers as they learned to live together, despite their drastically different personalities.

Actor Brian Peck was hired as a dialogue coach by Nickelodeon, working on various projects. He was sentenced to 16 months in jail in 2004 after pleading guilty to oral copulation with a minor under 16, along with performing a lewd act with a 14 or 15-year-old. He was also required to register as a sex offender.

At the time, Bell was not publicly identified as Brian Peck's victim. The teen told his mother about the abuse, which he described as "extensive" and "brutal," with Bell taking part in the police investigation.

In a statement, Nickelodeon told Newsweek: "Now that Drake Bell has 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."

Following the release of Quiet on Set, Bell was spotted liking posts attacking Josh Peck's silence on the docuseries.

Along with facing backlash for not speaking out, Peck was criticized for sharing a TikTok video that many fans believed to be aimed at Bell.

The sitcom star lip-synched to the audio: "If I haven't talked to you since 2023, take that as a f****** sign that you don't exist to me anymore."

However, Bell posted a TikTok video defending Peck, telling followers that his former co-star had reached out to him privately.

"I just want to clear something up," he said. "I've noticed a lot of comments on some of Josh's TikToks and some of his posts. I just want to let you guys know that.. processing this and going through this is a really emotional time. A lot of it's very, very difficult, so not everything is put out to the public.

"But I just wanted to let you guys know that [Josh] has reached out to me and it's been very sensitive... He has reached out to talk with me and help me work through this and he's been really, really great."