Josh Peck is being slammed once more following the release of Quiet on Set, with focus now turning to a “v-card” video he made with his fellow Drake & Josh star, Drake Bell.
Quiet on Set: The Dark Side of Kids TV sees Drake coming forward to reveal his identity as the victim in the 2004 child abuse case against his former dialogue coach and Nickelodeon’s “Pickle Boy,” Brian Peck.
In an interview on the latest Not Skinny But Not Fat podcast episode, Drake says that Josh worked on The Amanda Show with him, and “so he saw and knew what was going on” with the Brian Peck situation.
Drake goes on to explain that he doesn’t think Josh “knew the specifics” and shares gratitude that his former co-star reached out to him “privately, rather than just going straight to social media.”
These new comments have sparked an angry reaction, specifically in relation to a YouTube video from Josh’s channel. In 2019, Josh invited Drake on for an episode of his ‘Losing Your V Card’ series, which sees celebrities discuss losing their virginity.
While much of the series is still on Josh’s channel, the Drake episode has been made private, although it’s not known whether this is related to Quiet on Set.
Nonetheless, Josh is facing backlash online for asking Drake to take part when he allegedly knew about the abuse.
As stated by one Redditor: “Now we know that he knew a certain amount about what happened, although maybe not the full extent. He knew that Drake was the kid involved in the case against Brian Peck — so why, WHY would he do the v-card interview with Drake?
“Is he genuinely just really insensitive? Was he trying to hurt Drake? I can’t think of a valid reason for his attitude on that video (now of course made private).”
Another who posted the clip, which you can find here, added: “Sharing for those who did not see it and are defending Josh. Of course it was a bit he did regularly and obviously Drake agreed to do it but the comments and questions he asks are insane.
“I lost my virginity through SA and have answered this question over the years describing my first consensual time. But in my head I still think of the SA. Not to mention the first several times it was consensual it was still traumatic from the SA.
“It would be totally innocent if he didn’t know anything about what Drake experienced but some of those comments straight up seem like digs.”
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However, not everyone agrees that Josh was in the wrong. One Redditor jumped in to defend him, writing: “I said this yesterday but I think there’s definitely a disconnect on what people actually ‘knew’.
“The details were sealed, Brian pleaded no contest, the sentence was woefully short, and information was not readily available the way it is now.
“I think there’s just a world where a lot of people knew something inappropriate happened but did not realize it was rape or even involved any physical assault.
“Obviously in retrospect this is wildly insensitive but given this was a common bit Josh did, Drake agreed and Drake obviously doesn’t hold it against Josh, I don’t think it’s fair for us to.”
This isn’t the first time Josh has faced criticism following the release of Quiet on Set.
Last month, he shared a TikTok video in which he lip-syncs to an audio that states, “If I haven’t talked to you since 2023, take that as a f*cking sign that you don’t exist to me anymore.”
Followers jumped to the conclusion that he was referring to Drake, accusing him of not supporting his friend. However, Drake took to TikTok to tell his fans to “take it a little easy” and reassure them that Josh “has been really great.”
Josh followed this with a statement he shared on Instagram, which reads: “I finished the Quiet on Set documentary and took a few days to process it.
“I reached out to Drake privately, but want to give my support for the survivors who were brave enough to share their stories of emotional and physical abuse on Nickelodeon sets with the world.
“Children should be protected. 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.”
Quiet on Set: The Dark Side of Kids TV is streaming on Max now, with Episode 5 set to drop on ID and Max on April 7. Be sure to check out everything we know about the fifth chapter. You can also read about the Brandi Carlile confusion, Nickelodeon directors’ apology to Bell, and Peck’s connection to John Wayne Gacy.