- Drake Bell was unmasked as Ice King on the latest episode of The Masked Singer
- Bell got his start on the Disney Channel as an actor and musician
- He came forward with allegations of abuse in the documentary Quiet On Set
Drake Bell was revealed to be Ice King on the latest episode of The Masked Singer.
The actor and musician made it to the eighth episode of the quirky singing competition and performed Midnight Sky by Miley Cyrus before he was unmasked.
“What originally drew me to the ‘Masked Singer’ was just doing something out of my element and doing something fun,” he said following his elimination. “I’m always working and performing. And I thought, to go and put some crazy costume on and sing different songs that you wouldn’t normally sing, to learn this choreography and have these big productions around you, it just seemed like it’d be a total blast.”
He previously took part on the Mexican version of the show in the disguise of Baby Alien.
Who is Drake Bell and how did he enter the public eye?
Bell got his start as a child actor in the 1990s, having started acting at the age of five. He rose to fame in various shows on Nickelodeon, mainly The Amanda Show and the sitcom Drake & Josh (2004–2007). Later, he returned to Nickelodeon as an adult for the television film series The Fairly OddParents.
After making his name on the channel, Bell pivoted into music. His debut album Telegraph was released in 2005, followed by It’s Only Time in 2006 and Ready Steady Go! in 2014. More recently, he has returned to music and has released two more albums – 2020’s The Lost Album and 2024’s Non-Stop Flight – as an independent artist.
Last year, Bell said he was writing a book called I Found A Way which he promised would tell “my true story”.
What happened in Drake Bell’s 2021 legal case?
In 2021, Bell was sentenced to two years of probation and 200 hours of community service after pleading guilty to charges of attempted child endangerment and disseminating harmful material to children. A girl he had met online accused him of sending her messages of a sexual nature when she was 15 years old.
Bell said in a statement prior to the sentence: “I’m sorry that the victim was harmed in any way, but that was obviously not my intention. I have taken this matter very, very seriously. And again, I just want to apologise to her and anyone else who may have been affected by my actions.”
How was Drake Bell involved in Quiet On Set?
Bell was part of the high-profile documentary Quiet On Set: The Dark Side Of Kids’ TV earlier this year. In the five-part documentary, he said that he was sexually abused by dialogue coach Brian Peck at the age of 15. The abuse took place while he was working on The Amanda Show.
Peck was arrested in August 2003 on over a dozen charges relating to sexual abuse involving an unnamed minor. He was sentenced to 16 months in prison and had to register as a sex offender.
In response, Nickelodeon said in a statement they were “dismayed and saddened to learn of the trauma he has endured, and we commend and support the strength required to come forward.”
One of Bell’s clue packages on The Masked Singer related to the documentary.
“I finally felt ready to tell my truth to the world,” said Bell as the Ice King. “And so I did. And then instantly regretted it. I imagined my words all over the news and the Internet, and totally freaked. I begged them to pull my story. I didn’t want it to run.
“But, that power was out of my reach. The night it was released, I was a total disaster. Frozen. But once I saw how many people could relate, I felt the weight lifted off my shoulders.
“My story is out there. And I don’t need everyone to understand me. But I’ve worked hard to put that chapter behind me, which is what I wanted most. For those of you who do stand with me, thank you. Because your support makes me feel like the sky’s the limit.”
