The long-simmering feud between Drake Bell and Josh Peck, the stars of the 2004-07 Nickelodeon series “Drake & Josh,” has been reheated anew through a podcast interview with Peck.
What Happened: In a March 16 appearance on the Dave Portnoy-Josh Richards podcast “BFFs,” Peck acknowledged he and Bell did not remain close in the years following the conclusion of their popular show. In 2017, when Peck was getting married, he did not invite Bell to the wedding ceremony.
Bell responded to the snub by going on Twitter (NYSE:TWTR) to declare, "When you're not invited to the wedding the message is clear..." and "Loyalty is key. ALWAYS remember where you came from." He later deleted the tweets.
Peck stated, "I'm getting married that night and I see these text messages from him, like cursing me out, coming for me. On the night of my wedding... I don't care about me, it's, whatever, I signed up to be a public person. It is what it is. But here's my wife, who's like, getting torn down on the Internet and I'm like, she's private and she just got married."
Bell and Peck would see each other again six months later at the MTV VMAs ceremony, with Peck posting an online photo of the two hugging each other. Peck stated in the podcast interview he forced Bell to apologize to his new wife before any public reconciliation was made, which Bell did. When asked on the podcast if he and Bell remained friends, Peck said, “Not really. No.”
EOnline.com reported that Janet Bell, the wife of Drake Bell, responded to the interview by posting an Instagram video that disputed Peck’s recollections, stating that he asked her husband “nicely” to apologize to his wife and that the actors and their wives “actually hung out after that, multiple times. We've talked multiple times since then. So like, you're a f**king liar. A f**king liar, Josh." Janet Bell deleted the video shortly after it posted.
What Else Happened: In 2020, a potential “Drake & Josh” reunion was being floated as a Netflix (NASDAQ:NFLX). However, the project was canceled when Bell was arrested and convicted of attempted child endangerment. Bell, who pleaded not guilty to the charges, was sentenced to two years of probation and 200 hours of community service.
Peck is currently shooting the theatrical film “Oppenheimer” for director Christopher Nolan. Bell, who has divided his performing career between music and voice acting for animated productions, posted a photo on Twitter last Christmas that showed him and Peck in their “Drake & Josh” days. Peck last posted a Twitter photo with Bell on Feb. 14, 2019, with a “Drake & Josh” still as a Valentine’s Day salutation.
Most of the “Drake & Josh” episodes can be seen on Paramount Global’s (NASDAQ:PARAA) Paramount+ streaming service and on Hulu, which is jointly operated by the Walt Disney Co. (NYSE:DIS) and Comcast Corporation (NASDAQ:CMCSA).
Photo: Drake Bell and Josh Bell in a 2007 photo from their "Drake & Josh" sitcom, courtesy of Paramount+.
