Rider Strong Receives Backlash For 'Protecting Child Predators'

Nickelodeon vocal instructor Brian Peck was accused of s-xual assault by a minor. The minor was later revealed to be Drake Bell, who was 15 at the time.

The former 'Drake & Josh' star opened up for the first time in the newly released docuseries, ‘Quiet On Set: The Dark Side Of KidsTV’, describing the abuse he endured from Peck while working at the studio.

After the allegations, police arrested Peck, where the case went to trial. As a way to try and reduce Peck's sentence, many Hollywood stars wrote letters of support to the judge, one of which was signed by 'Boy Meets World' actor Rider Strong.

In Investigation Discovery’s four-part docuseries ‘Quiet on Set: The Dark Side of Kids TV’, Drake Bell spoke out about the s-xual abuse he endured during his time on Nickelodeon for the first time.

“Brian [Peck] and I became really close because we had a lot of the same interests, which looking back, I think that was probably a little calculated,” Bell said of his childhood vocal coach.

After Peck became Bell's manager, he spent a lot more time with Peck, including sleeping over his house. “I was sleeping on the couch where I usually sleep and I woke up to him… I opened my eyes and I woke up and he was…he was s-xually assaulting me,” Bell, who was 15 at the time, says in the docuseries. “And I froze, and was in complete shock and had no idea what to do or how to react.”

“You know anytime I had an audition or anytime I needed to work on dialogue or anything, I somehow ended up back at Brian’s house,” the ‘Drake & Josh’ star recalled. “And it just got worse, and worse, and worse, and worse, and I was just trapped. I had no way out. The abuse was extensive and it got pretty brutal.”

The Nickelodeon star claims the abuse happened more than once. Brian Peck was later arrested due to s-xual assault claims, however, he was released after 16 months behind bars, which could have been due to the letters of support he received during his trial.

At the time of the trial, Rider Strong wrote a letter to the judge, which has since been made public.

"Brian is undoubtedly one of the funniest people I have ever met. Unlike most people, however, Brian does not harbor any desperate or depressed feelings for which his humor compensates," Strong wrote. "He is intelligent, well informed, and very straightforward."

He later added, "It was extremely disturbing to learn of Brian's arrest. Maliciousness is so antithetical to his nature, it is impossible for me to comprehend a situation that would lead him to do something illegal or even inappropriate."

After word got out that Rider Strong wrote a letter of support, fans immediately slammed the actor for his actions.

"You protect child predators," one social media user wrote on Strong's recent post. "Guess ya’ll have a new topic for your podcast! So you support Brian Peck?" another wrote.

Another asked, "Where’s the apology to Drake? Why did you defend a child molester?"

As one Drake Bell fan commented, "How about you write a letter apologizing to Drake Bell?

"Unfollowed real quick … defending Brian Peck for what he did is crazy," another user expressed.

In a series of since-deleted comments left on 'Zoey 101' star Alexa Nikolas's post that called out Rider Strong and Will Friedle, Drake Bell slammed the former 'Boy Meets World' star.

“RIDER WAS 24 years old when he wrote the letter and was told by Brian what he did,” Bell wrote in a since-deleted comment. He also alleged that Strong knew about the abuse he’d suffered, but “He wrote the letter anyway."

Bell also slammed Friedle, who was 27 at the time, claiming “Brian [Peck] told him what he did,” indicating that Friedle knew of the s-xual abuse Bell had suffered while at Peck's house. “Many people turned away and said 'no I won’t write a letter', but [Strong and Friedle] did.”

Rider Strong has yet to speak out following the release of the docuseries.