Drake Bell has put the past behind him and forgiven Rider Strong.

Drake Bell has publicly announced that he has forgiven Rider Strong. Bell's statement comes after Strong was criticised for his past support of Brian Peck, who was convicted of sexually assaulting Bell when the Drake & Josh star was a teenager.

Strong, known for his role on Boy Meets World, was revealed to have written a letter of support for Peck during his 2003 trial. This information was shared in the Investigation Discovery docuseries, Quiet on Set: The Dark Side of Kids TV.

Bell expressed his forgiveness on social media, stating: "I just had the most amazing conversation with @RiderStrong we are all healing together. I have nothing but love and forgiveness for him."

Warner Bros. Discovery confirmed Peck's 2004 conviction and his status as a registered sex offender.

Initially, Bell reacted negatively to Strong's past support of Peck. He argued: "RIDER WAS 24 years old when he wrote the letter and was told by Brian what he did. He wrote the letter anyway."

Strong and his Boy Meets World co-star Will Friedle addressed Peck on their podcast, Pod Meets World. They claim Peck groomed them, leading Friedle to say he "turned us against the victim," referring to Bell.

Bell disputed their motives in his now-deleted comments, suggesting Strong and Friedle spoke out because "Everyone thought the letters would be sealed forever and no one would ever see them. This is their publicist telling them how to get ahead of the story."