Drake Bell used songwriting to cope with his emotions before ever telling anyone about experiencing sexual assault as a child star.
In a new TikTok out on Saturday, the singer stared sadly at the camera as his 2005 track In The End played in the background. In text on the video, the 37-year-old revealed:
“Wrote this song when I was 15 about what happened before I said anything to anyone”
Oof. Drake was just 15 when his former dialogue coach and Nickelodeon co-star Brian Peck began sexually assaulting him, as he revealed in the new documentary series, Quiet On Set: The Dark Side of Kids TV. So, he wrote this track while the emotions were really raw!
Related: Drake Checked Himself Into Rehab Before Participating In Quiet On Set Doc
As we covered, Drake and Brian worked together on the set of All That and The Amanda Show. They became super close — and eventually, Brian began assaulting the teen actor, who called the abuse “extensive” and “brutal.” Brian was sentenced to 16 months behind bars and ordered to register as a sex offender when he was convicted of his crimes in 2004. Until now, Drake’s identity was kept a secret. But it turns out he was hinting at the abuse in his music all along.
The lyrics of In The End do seem to reflect on the trauma he endured, the musician sang:
“Wake up / It’s time to get your things together and drive away / Breathe out, future days will treat you better / That’s what they say / Another day gone without a say / But it’s okay if you turn around / And feel the memories bringin’ you down.”
Elsewhere in the emotional track, the artist continued:
“And in the end, are you stronger? (Are you stronger?) / Do you no longer need to recover? / And where have you been since it’s been over? (Since it’s been over) / Over my shoulder, under my skin, will you ever return again? / Wake up / The monsters in your head have left you / All to yourself, it’s alright / If ugly little things remind you of how it felt / Another day, no one tells you what it means / What’s in your way and poisonin’ your dreams / The darkest place that you’ve ever been”
Just heartbreaking. He was so, so young, too. You can see his TikTok and hear the full song (below):
@drakebell
It couldn’t have been easy to keep this a secret for as long as he did, but at least he had an outlet to express his harrowing emotions while going through the difficult time.
Thoughts? Let us know (below).
[Image via MEGA/WENN & Drake Bell/YouTube]
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