(L-R) Nancy Sullivan and Drake Bell.Photo:Nancy Sullivan/Instagram
Nancy Sullivan/Instagram
EDITOR’S NOTE: This story has been updated. The original featured image featured the wrong Nancy Sullivan. This has been corrected.
“They weren’t my real kids, but I’ll always love them,” Sullivan wrote in the caption of a post, featuring an old photo of Bell in his teens.
Sullivan then said she hopes Bell will be able to find the strength to move on, now that he’s spoken out publicly for the first time. “Past abuse doesn’t define us, and it has no right to rule our lives, I know that putting this burden down will free him in so many ways,” she wrote. “I hope memories of the joy he had on our shows will someday greatly overshadow the pain.”
‘Drake and Josh’ cast members Nancy Sullivan, Miranda Cosgrove, Josh Peck, Drake Bell and Jonathan Goldstein.Jeff Kravitz/FilmMagic
Jeff Kravitz/FilmMagic
Sullivan worked with Bell onDrake and Joshthroughout its entire run from 2004 to 2007. On the series, Sullivan portrayed the biological mother of Bell’s character Drake and Megan (Miranda Cosgrove), whose marriage to Walter Nichols (Jonathan Goldstein) resulted in a blended family and the introduction of their stepbrother Josh (Josh Peck).
BeforeDrake and Josh, Sullivan and Bell also both appeared in the ensemble cast ofThe Amanda Show, which ran from 1999 to 2002.
Drake Bell and Nancy Sullivan at the Kids' Choice Awards on March 29, 2008.Kevin Winter/Getty
Kevin Winter/Getty
“Processing this and going through this is a really emotional time,” theAll Thatalum said in the clip. “A lot of it is very difficult so not everything is put out to the public. But I just wanted to let you guys know that [Josh] has reached out to me and it’s been very sensitive."
The “I Found a Way” singer added, “But he has reached out to talk with me and help me work through this and he’s been really great.”
Bell also requested that fans speculating the two weren’t in contact to “take it a little easy” in the comment sections of Peck’s posts on social media.
Josh Peck and Drake Bell.Jon Kopaloff/Getty Images; Paul Archuleta/Getty Images
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In connection with Bell’s case, Brian pleaded no contest to a charge of oral copulation with a minor under 16, as well as a charge of performing a lewd act with a teenager, in 2004. He then spent 16 months in prison and was mandated to register as a sex offender.
Quiet on Setis the first time Bell has spoken out about the case, as his identity as the victim was not made public because he was a minor at the time.
If you or someone you know has been a victim of sexual abuse, text “STRENGTH” to the Crisis Text Line at 741-741 to be connected to a certified crisis counselor.
source: people.com
