Drake Bell says it was ‘freeing’ to compete on The Masked Singer after opening up about the sexual abuse he experienced as a child actor on Nickelodeon.
The Drake And Josh star, 38 — who was unmasked as Ice King earlier this week — spoke to PEOPLE about performing anonymously on the singing competition show.
‘You’re not self-conscious,’ he said. ‘If I didn’t have the mask on and I’m singing these songs that I learned last night and choreography I learned yesterday, I would be like, “Am I doing this right? I don’t know.”
‘But to put the mask on, you lose yourself in the character. You get to go, “I’m just going to go out and have fun.” It’s a really freeing experience.’
Bell was eliminated Wednesday night after performing his own rendition of Miley Cyrus‘ hit Midnight Sky.
After he was unmasked, Bell expressed his appreciation to judges Robin Thicke, Ken Jeong and Jenny McCarthy-Wahlberg for the opportunity to compete.
‘It’s been a long road and really difficult,’ he said into host Nick Cannon’s mic. ‘But to come here and do something like this and to get– and see the support and see– being able to put smiles back on people’s faces, it’s, you know, this is why we’re entertainers.’
In Thursday’s PEOPLE interview, Bell also touched on the controversial documentary that was released back in March by Investigation Discovery, Quiet on Set, in which he opened up about his ‘painful’ career as a child star.
In the doc, Bell revealed that he was sexually abused by a vocal instructor named Brian Peck at age 15 and shared how the ‘brutal, unspeakable’ abuse impacted him into adulthood.
‘There was a documentary that had come out earlier this year, and it was the first time that I’d shared some really personal and traumatic experiences and some unfortunate events that I had endured in my past as a young actor,’ Bell explained.
‘But being able to work through those things and come out on the other side and still be able to get up and perform — I’m on tour right now — is a great experience.’
He told the outlet that recovering from traumatic experiences is not as ‘easy’ as it seems, but with the proper help and modern tools it is possible.
‘It’s a roller coaster. I don’t want anybody to take away like, “Oh, it’s so easy. Just get back up and dust yourself off and you’ll be fine,” he explained.
‘It’ll always be in your past. It’s something that stays with you for the rest of your life.
‘You just need to keep the right people around you, stay focused and do whatever you can in your power to get the tools you really need to make it through those difficult times.’
He went on to explain that more fans recognize him now — twenty years after starring on Nickelodeon’s Drake And Josh — than when the show was on air.
‘Drake & Josh. It’s such an iconic show. It’s taken on a whole life of its own,’ he said. ‘I get recognized now more than even when we were airing or when the show was popular, and by young people who weren’t even alive when the show was airing,’ he said.
And the singer also recalled the sweet moment when he caught a young super-fan singing all the lyrics to his songs during a recent performance in Florida.
‘I played a concert not too long ago, and there was this little kid up at the front row singing all the lyrics to all my songs. I said, “Bring him backstage. I got to meet this kid.” Him and his family came backstage and he took his hat off and he moved his hair.
‘He’s like, “Look, I have my hair like you on the show,” and then he started quoting the show and everything,’ Bell recalled.
‘I’m like, “You weren’t even alive when we finished the show. When we got canceled, you weren’t even around.” His mom’s like, “Nope. He watches that show every day and he knows all your songs.”‘
Bell loves that the sitcom appeals to a ‘whole new generation.’
Back in October, Bell released his second solo album Non-Stop Flight with 25 songs and 36 tracks which he is currently touring.
He said of the record: ‘It took me four years to complete. I’ve just been writing and writing — this roller coaster ride I’ve been on, it inspired so many songs.
‘Now I’m on tour touring it and doing great. We’re having awesome, sold-out shows, and it’s the biggest production that I’ve ever done on tour. It’s a blast. I’m having a great time.’
The Non-Stop Flight Tour kicked off on Friday, November 8, in Metepec, Mexico and will wrap up on Saturday, January 25, 2025 in Orlando, Florida.
