Drake Bell and Josh Peck reveal why they fell out as stars reunite for emotional podcast

Drake Bell and Josh Peck reunited for the first time in years in a tell-all podcast, with the Nickelodeon co-stars opening up about why they fell out. Warning: some may find this content distressing.

Last year, Bell appeared on ID’s explosive docu-series Quiet on Set to reveal for the first time that he was sexually abused by former Nickelodeon dialogue coach Brian Peck (no relation to Josh) in 2001.

Although Brian Peck had been arrested at the time, the victim’s name remained anonymous. By sharing his truth, Drake hoped to spread awareness about the need for child actors’ safety in the entertainment business. 

His appearance sparked questions about his relationship with his Drake & Josh co-star. Despite expressing a rift in their friendship, the pair supported each other after the release of Quiet on Set – and now they’ve opened up about what happened. 

Drake Bell & Josh Peck open up about fallout 

Ultimately, Drake and Josh fell out for a number of reasons. Not only did they just drift apart, but they both had their own personal issues to deal with, and they ended up taking this out on each other. 

The pair first met while working on The Amanda Show in the ‘00s, which led to them both leading the hit 2004 series Drake & Josh, which ran until 2007. 

Their fallout has made the news over the years, with Drake publicly expressing his upset over not being invited to Josh’s wedding in 2017.

In 2021, a former female fan accused Drake of grooming her from the age of 12 before sexually abusing her at age 15. Ultimately, due to insufficient evidence, the actor wasn’t charged for any physical abuse. 

However, he did plead guilty to attempted child endangerment and a misdemeanor charge of disseminating matter harmful to juveniles, and was sentenced to two years probation and 200 hours of community service.

There were rumors circulating at the time that Josh had distanced himself from Drake, although these have never been confirmed. When Quiet on Set dropped, the pair showed support to one another.

Appearing on the latest episode of the Good Guys podcast, co-hosted by Josh and Ben Soffer, Drake explained, “I have my perspective,” comparing their chat to a therapy session.

“Especially because we were going through this during our adolescence and when we were changing and learning, it’s going to be interesting to see what my perspective was and what your perspective was and if they align at all,” he continued.

Nickelodeon

“I would say there were times when we hung out a lot and we were close and then there were times when – not for any reason – but just we weren’t. 

“And then I think that there were times when, you know, when you are working with somebody every day, day in and day out, and you’re going through stuff at home or emotional things… you take it out on whoever’s closest to you and with you the most often.

“Your mom’s like, ‘Why are you taking this out on me?’ It’s like, ‘You’re the one that’s there.’ Your sister, your girlfriend, your brother, whoever it is. And I think that we suffered the brunt of that a little bit. 

“There were times where, yeah, we might not have been getting along, but we were dealing with a lot of sh*t that’s outside of our relationship of us working together.”

Josh then chimed in, “As my mother would say, ‘I’m not here for you to unload. I take on your michygoss for days. You’re out running around and I’m here bleeding!’ Thanks mom. It’s called enmeshment. I’ve done a lot of therapy on that.”

Josh talks Quiet on Set 

Alongside their friendship, Josh unpacked his reaction to Drake’s confession in Quiet on Set, which aired in March 2024, saying he “can’t even imagine” what his co-star went through. 

“I didn’t know any of this at 14, and in watching the documentary, at 38, as a father, as a grown-up, so much was revealed to me,” he said. 

Later on in the podcast, Josh explained that while he didn’t know what had happened, he recalled a past moment when he asked if Drake still spoke to Brian, to which he replied, “No, Brian’s a really bad guy.”

“I remember thinking, ‘Gotcha,’ and it was all that I needed to know,” Josh said. “I didn’t know anything more than that, but I was like, ‘That’s clear.’”

“It’s only in watching the doc that I can realize that just him being put to justice – which thank God he was and he deserved to go longer – but like what about you? What about the trauma you endured?” he continued.

“It’s so much deeper, it’s so much more unacceptable than all that. It’s not this clean, ‘Well he went to jail so everyone’s all better now.’”

You can listen to Part 1 of the Good Guys podcast with Drake Bell on the usual platforms or via Josh’s YouTube channel, with Part 2 dropping on Thursday, March 27. 

In the meantime, check out the most underrated true crime podcasts and find new documentaries streaming this month.