The first two episodes of Quiet on Set feature numerous revelations, among them the letters of support written for Brian Peck, the former dialogue coach who sexually abused Drake Bell. According to the documentary, the authors of those letters include James Marsden, Taran Killam, and other notable stars of the time.
Quiet on Set: The Dark Side of Kids TV is a new ID documentary series that goes behind the scenes of some of the most popular kids shows of the ’90s and ’00s, examining the culture that enabled men like Brian Peck and Dan Schneider to prey on young actors. The first two episodes of the series premiered on March 17 and feature extensive interviews with Drake Bell, the former star of Nickelodeon’s Drake and Josh. Peck was a dialogue coach who appeared in a couple of episodes of Boy Meets World and went on to become Bell’s manager.
Bell recalls being sexually abused multiple times by Peck, who was tried and convicted in 2004 of committing a lewd act against a child and oral copulation of a person under 16. Peck, who pleaded no contest to the charges, served 16 months in prison and was ordered to register as a sex offender. During the sentencing, Peck’s team supplied letters of support from several famous actors, some of whom even appeared at the hearing. According to Quiet on Set, Peck’s supporters included James Marsden, Taran Killam, Growing Pains stars Alan Thicke and Joanna Kerns, Kimmy Robertson, X-Men producer Tom DeSanto, and Boy Meets World stars Will Friedle and Rider Strong.
Letters of support are typically commissioned by defendants and their legal representatives and are written by friends, peers, and acquaintances who can vouch for the defendant’s character. These letters are shared with the judge during the sentencing phase in the hopes of receiving a lighter sentence. (You may recall the letters of support that Ashton Kutcher and Mila Kunis wrote for Danny Masterson when he was being sentenced for raping two women.) As highlighted in Quiet on Set, not everyone who vouched for Peck was aware of the extent of the allegations back in 2004. The docuseries includes a statement from Joanna Kerns, who said, “I have now learned that my letter of support was based on complete misinformation. Knowing what I know now, I would never have written the letter.”
Last month, Will Friedle and Rider Strong spoke candidly on their podcast about Brian Peck and their prior friendship with the convicted abuser. After being contacted by the producers of Quiet on Set, Friedle and Strong decided to open up about the allegations on Pod Meets World, and even enlisted a family therapist to help them—along with co-host and fellow Boy Meets World alum Danielle Fishel—navigate the sensitive subject. According to Friedle and Strong, they met and befriended Peck when he appeared on two episodes of the hit ABC sitcom. Following the initial accusations in 2003, neither of the young actors wanted to believe their friend was capable of sexual abuse. Friedle and Strong reflected on the ways in which Peck manipulated them, even convincing both actors to appear at his sentencing.
“So you sidle up to the guy who now you look back on as an adult and you go, ‘He’s horrible,’” Friedle said. “And my instinct initially was, ‘Well, my friend can’t be [this person], this can’t be. So it’s got to be the other person’s fault,’ has to be the story. Of course, it makes complete sense. The way that he’s saying it and ‘You’re damn right, it’s that kid’s fault. How dare he?’ And I look back at that now as an adult, and it makes me want to cry that I ever was that naive.”
Strong added, “Back then, you couldn’t Google to find out what people were being charged with. In retrospect, he was making a plea deal and admitting one thing—which is all he admitted to us—but it looks like he was being charged with a series of crimes, which we did not know.”
People obtained a statement from DeSanto, a producer on the X-Men films and one of several people who wrote letters of support for Peck:
“Having dedicated a significant portion of my career to shedding light on systemic abuse and advocating for those without a voice. These experiences have profoundly shaped my understanding of responsibility and advocacy and is at the core of who I am.
My decisions at the time were based on incomplete information given to me, and I lacked full awareness of the gravity of the accusations. With the knowledge and understanding I possess today, I want to personally apologize to Drake and his family and emphatically state that had I been fully informed of all the accusations, my support would have been absolutely withheld. This situation underscores the critical importance of due diligence and the relentless pursuit of truth, especially when it comes to standing in solidarity with survivors of abuse.”
As of this writing, James Marsden, Taran Killam, and Kimmy Robertson have not commented on their letters of support for Peck. It is entirely plausible that some or all of them were not aware of the full extent of the allegations against Peck at the time. That said, it sure would be nice if they said something about it now.
(featured image: ID)
