As a person who grew up in front of the camera, Saved by the Bell veteran Mark-Paul Gosselaar says he feels awful about what the alleged victims revealed in the hit documentary series Quiet on the Set: The Dark Side of Kids TV.
The Investigation Discovery docuseries detailed emotional and even sexual abuse suffered by former Nickelodeon stars, including Drake Bell, who revealed he was repeatedly sexually assaulted by former dialogue coach Brian Peck.
Speaking to Page Six in New York City Monday, Gosselaar said, “I couldn’t relate because that’s not how our set was run at all.”
He said of his former co-stars Mario Lopez, Elizabeth Berkley, Lark Voorhies, Tiffani Thiessen and the late Dustin Diamond, “As a cast, I think we’re all pretty unscathed in a way.”
Gosselaar added, “We had good family, good producers protecting us, good teachers, so I feel awful that anyone had to go through that, especially children.”
That said, the now-50-year-old actor commented, “The only thing I can say from my experience is I was very aware of it being a business and people will do anything for the bottom line at times.”
The most recent installment of Quiet on the Set, which dropped on Max on Sunday, featured an interview with Bell, in which he was asked about young stars who sat on Peck’s side of the courtroom as he faced 11 counts of sexual abuse of a minor.
The documentary revealed other male stars, reportedly including Will Friedle and James Marsden, had written letters supporting Peck — who was eventually convicted. “Not one person who’s written one of those letters has reached out to me,” Bell told moderator Soledad O’Brien.
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