[Warning: Potentially Triggering Content]
The stars of Ned’s Declassified School Survival Guide are full of regret about the inappropriate comments they made about one of the darkest times in Drake Bell’s life.
Earlier this week, Devon Werkheiser, Lindsey Shaw, and Daniel Curtis Lee laughed and joked on TikTok Live about the “brutal” sexual assault the 37-year-old actor revealed in the Quiet on Set doc — experienced at the hands of former Nickelodeon dialogue coach and convicted child molester Brian Peck. Devon said in a now-viral clip:
“Daniel, we told you never to speak about that. Get back in your hole, Daniel, and give me your holes. Sorry, we shouldn’t joke about this. We really shouldn’t.”
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What the f**k!
The trio immediately faced backlash online, as many thought the comments were incredibly insensitive to those who experienced abuse. Even Drake slammed the podcasters on X (Twitter), calling them “Ned’s Declassless!” After the call out, Devon apologized and said he was “gutted” he hurt the Drake & Josh star with his words. And it looks like the apologies aren’t over yet.
Several days later, Devon, Lindsey, and Daniel released an episode of their Ned’s Declassified Podcast Survival Guide to admit even more that they “f**ked up.” But first, Devon clarified the nasty comments he made. He explained on the podcast that fans in the TikTok Live comments kept asking for their opinions on the documentary. At the same time, Daniel was having trouble editing sound for their podcast and thought the footage got deleted. And that is when he decided to make the “s**t joke,” not realizing “the magnitude” of his words since he hadn’t watched the doc:
“If you haven’t seen the clip, if you haven’t seen what’s going on, we were on a TikTok Live being asked to comment on the Quiet on Set documentary, which we hadn’t seen, and a super s**t joke came out that was referenced at Daniel [Curtis Lee] and looked like I was talking about Drake [Bell]. We f**ed up. I get it. We hadn’t seen the doc and everyone was asking us for their for our opinions on it.”
Daniel insisted the joke was not meant to be aimed at Drake, but instead, the “statement was directed to me in the extreme way that we disparage each other.” So they’re trying to say it was a poorly timed joke? Hmm. However, Devon recognizes there is no excuse for their behavior. And after watching the documentary, he understands why everyone was up in arms about the remarks:
“Now, having seen the documentary, it’s disturbing. Now, we’ve watched it and I get it. If I had just watched especially that third episode and then watched us joking like that … I would be like, ‘Are they sociopaths? Is something wrong with them?’”
The joke definitely was not cool at all. Devon later expressed how he “felt like a piece of s**t” when Drake reacted to the TikTok Live, adding:
“I have to say when I saw our little f**king TikTok clip and that Drake had retweeted it, I was just watching his interview [in Quiet on Set]. And someone sent me that he had retweeted it and then I saw the clip and like … I put out a f**king apology immediately. I know it looks like I’m laughing at this and I f**king wasn’t, but I know what it looks like, and that Drake saw it … yeah. I just felt so f**king awful, knowing that Drake saw us in that context.”
As for Lindsey? The Pretty Little Liars alum acknowledges none of them should have had any “insensitivity” amid the documentary, saying:
“I hate that this happened. I hate that we compounded any trauma around this situation that means so much to each of us. I am sorry. I know that that even when there wasn’t an intention or malice behind things people have done for me, I know that it has just helped me when people meet me where I am and recognize like, ‘Hey that was a gut punch, whether it was intentional or not.’ And, yeah, gut punches suck.”
Hopefully, they learned a big lesson from all of this. Watch the podcast episode (below):
They seem to be genuinely remorseful for their actions. But we’ll see if Drake chooses to accept these apologies anytime soon. What are your thoughts on the situation, Perezcious readers? Sound OFF in the comments below.
If you or someone you know has experienced sexual violence and would like to learn more about resources, consider checking out https://www.rainn.org/resources.
[Image via Ned’s Declassified Podcast Survival Guide/YouTube, FayesVision/WENN]
