Ned’s Declassified cast apologize to Drake Bell, make a case for the end of child acting

Shortly after Drake Bell called the Ned’s Declassified School Survival Guide cast “Ned’s Declassless” for seemingly joking about sexual assault in a viral clip, star Devon Werkheiser posted an apology on Twitter/X. “I was being an idiot today. No way around it,” he wrote. I feel horrible that my dumbass was even speaking about this without seeing it. I watched Quiet On Set tonight and am horrified by the gravity of what Drake and others shared. Truly heartbroken about what my fellow actors went through. I can’t believe they weren’t protected. I’m sorry for compounding any hurt.”

Most Popular

• James Cameron calls Christopher Nolan's Oppenheimer "a bit of a moral cop out"
• It's just another end of the world in 40 Acres
• On The Bear, Carmy says exactly what Syd’s been waiting to hear at exactly the wrong time

Werkheiser and his co-stars Lindsay Shaw and Daniel Curtis Lee elaborated on this during a new episode of their podcast posted on Friday, insisting that the clip going around was taken somewhat out of context, “a vulgar joke at a time that was not right.” The actors said they didn’t understand “the magnitude” of what they were addressing and were making personal jokes with each other, not meant to be at Bell’s expense. However, they acknowledged that they “fucked up.” “I hate that we compounded any trauma around this situation that means so much to each of us. I am sorry,” Shaw said.

Werkheiser recalled Bell coming to the Ned’s Declassified pilot wrap party, “And I remember him kind of big bro-ing me, in a cool way, like, putting me under his shoulder like, ‘Welcome to the network’ and stuff.” The pilot taping, Werkheiser said, would have been around the same time as Bell was in the middle of the trial against his abuser. “When I saw our little fuckin’ TikTok clip and that Drake had retweeted it, I was just watching his interview” in Quiet On Set, Werkheiser shared. “And someone sent me that he had retweeted it, and then I saw the clip, and … I felt like a piece of shit,” he said. “I know it looks like I’m laughing at this. And I fucking wasn’t, but I know what it looks like. And that Drake saw it… I just felt so fuckin’ awful.” The cast clarified that they were only speaking on it because people in the comments of the livestream were asking about it, but “That we were even willing to engage those questions in a place of such fucking ignorance” was a mistake, Werkheiser admitted.

Someone else involved in the pilot of Ned’s Declassified was Bell’s abuser, Brian Peck, the actors revealed. He only worked as a stand-in for that single episode, but Werkheiser claimed to remember when the news broke that Peck had been arrested and speaking with his mother about how Peck had been on their set. Otherwise, though, the three stars maintained that their experience with Ned’s and its creator Scott Fellows was a largely healthy one.

Still: they’ve all had experiences being “screwed over by the business in ways,” and can remember the pressure of being kid actors to work hard and please the adults on set, whether it meant working overtime or working through sickness. And while they had an on-set advocate (Scott Plimpton) with the “integrity” to stand up for them and shut down the production if it wasn’t in compliance with child labor laws, the three stars all agree that not every advocate cares enough or is empowered enough to step in amid those situations.

Even when there are laws, protections, and advocates in place, the rules still often get bent or broken, putting kids in situations that are at best uncomfortable and at worst actively dangerous. So what’s the solution? “I’m to the point, to be honest with you, this is a hard stance. … Children almost should not be allowed to be on television,” Lee said. “You gotta cut it off. It has to stop. It’s a humanitarian issue.”

He observed that “weirdos” like Peck—or even like Dan Schneider, who was not accused of any sexual misconduct but was described as a tyrannical, oppressive boss—seem to gravitate towards the entertainment industry. “I don’t know anymore if it’s okay to have children, young people, working with adults that closely and so often. Because it sounds like our experience with Scott Fellows was an anomaly. And if this is the norm, you gotta shut the system down. I hate to be that guy to say it.”

Lee became emotional discussing the section of Quiet On Set where Bell’s father stepped back as his manager, which allowed Peck to gain greater control over Bell’s life. When Werkheiser pointed out that Bell’s dad only did so to allow Bell to continue pursuing his dream career as an actor, Lee said, “That’s why I’m like, we kinda gotta throw it away. We kinda gotta throw it away. … I don’t think it’s okay to keep allowing kids to reach this type of stardom. Even with social media happening now, at least maybe the parents can be there. I know it has its own issues. But it’s disgusting, man.”

While Shaw and Werkheiser didn’t necessarily take the same stance about ending child stardom altogether, all three agreed something needed to change. Even beyond working on set, Shaw pointed out, child actors are expected to be press trained and do interviews, an exhausting and intensive aspect of the job. “They’re not a celebrity like an adult is, and should not be treated as such,” she said.

For Lee, “The reason I’m taking such a hard line on getting rid of kids’, children’s programming, is because this is one incident, and we’re just now hearing about it. Imagine what else has gone on. … All the people that are chasing this dream, we need a reset and a paradigm shift. People chasing this dream, these sleazy managers and people saying, ‘I can do this for your child.’ ‘Oh, you’re working? Let me do this.’”

“Why do we need it in our society?” He wondered.