Devon Werkheiser, a former Nickelodeon artist, responded to Drake Bell’s jokes about the alleged sexual abuse the” Drake &, Josh” sun and other celebrities on-set, saying “you know what I did.
Werkheiser, star of” Ned’s Declassified”, offered Bell an apology on X ( formerly Twitter ) on Tuesday, writing that he was “gutted I hurt you”. A picture of Werkheiser appearing to mock the claims of victimization and toxicology surrounding Dan Schneider and his models went viral a day after the bomb” Quiet on Set” docuseries premiered.
” Get back in your hole Daniel, and give me holes”, Werkheiser says in the , video,” sorry we should n’t joke about this…Listen our set was not like that”.
He added:” It’s f— awful, the Drake Bell s—…. is outrageous to learn, that is f—, person. And that never came out, which is really crazy”.
Werkheiser, 33, and his” Ned’s Declassified Podcast Survival Guide” co- hosts, including past co- star Lindsey Shaw, immediately faced backlash on X for “poking fun at the abuse” different actors reportedly faced on another 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 past” Zoey 101″ sun and , advocate for survivors of sexual abuse,  , wrote, “really sad and shocking to see some other Nick actors joking about 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, but, had his own ideas:” Ned’s Declassless”, he , tweeted on Monday, reposting Werkheiser’s picture.
” This is wild…laught it up guys…laught it up …”, he wrote.” ‘ Grant me your h*les?!! ‘ Definitely”? !
In” Quiet on Set”, Bell broke his silence on the , alleged sexual abuse , he faced from Nickelodeon speech coach Brian Peck. Bell and Peck had previously collaborated on” All That” and” The Amanda Show” sets.
Peck was convicted of child abuse in 2004, but for decades the victim’s identity remained mysterious. Bell claimed in the docuseries that the speech coach “had very much worked his way into every aspect of my life.”
In reply, Nickelodeon said in a speech,” we are disappointed and saddened to learn of the injury he has endured, and we commend and support the power required to come forward”.
Werkheiser acknowledged the influence of his remarks and released a statement shortly after receiving criticism from Bell and both social media enthusiasts.
” I feel awful that my dumba— was yet speaking about this without seeing it”, he wrote. ” I watched Quiet on Set evening and was struck by the magnitude of what Drake and another shared.”
He continued:” Truly heartbroken about what my brother players went through. I ca n’t believe they were n’t protected. I’m sad for compounding any harm”.
Bell has no acknowledged Werkheiser’s explanation.
Investigation Discovery’s four- element” Quiet on Set” renewed attention and suspense for the controversies surrounding Schneider’s TV reputation. On Tuesday, the manufacturer released a , almost 20- second video , acknowledging the film and addressing a range of claims. Schneider denied having hired Peck to work on his collection and teased as he recalled helping Bell’s family write her conversation for her evidence against the discourse manager.
” That was definitely the deepest part of my job”, he said.
Schneider ended his picture by describing what he could have changed on his models, including changing “how I do treat people and people” to hiring a licensed therapist to counsel fresh talent.
” When I watched the]docuseries], I could see the damage in some people’s vision and it made me feel terrible, and sad and sorry”, he said. ” I wish I could go back in my job, especially in those earlier times,” and deliver growth and the knowledge I now possess, and simply do a better job.
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