LOS FELIZ—Former Nickelodeon star Drake Bell was accused of abuse by his ex-girlfriend Melissa Lingafelt via a TikTok video posted on Wednesday, August 12.
Lingafelt said that she started dating Bell when she was 16 and moved in with him. “It wasn’t until about a year when the verbal abuse started. And when I say verbal abuse, imagine the worst type of verbal abuse you could ever imagine and that was what I got,” said Lingafelt.
She continued to say that the verbal abuse later turned into the physical harm, stressing that Bell dragged her down the downstairs of their home in Los Feliz and caused her face to hit the steps.
“I don’t even want to get into the underage girls’ thing,” said Lingafelt. “I mean I will, but I’m scared.”
“I don’t really care if anyone believes me, as this is the story of my life and something that I went through. It wasn’t until recently that I actually realized that abuse isn’t something all women have to go through,” said Lingafelt.
In response to the accusation, Bell, 34, told People that he “never abused his ex-girlfriend or did so many of the other things Melissa falsely claimed on her TikTok video.”
“We, unfortunately, both called each other terrible names, as often happens when couples are breaking up. But that is it,” said Bell. He mentioned that Lingafelt asked for financial support last year, implying she tried to seek money again.
On August 13, Lingafelt posted stories on Instagram, saying “everyone that really knows me and has been a friend of mine for the past 15 years, knows all too well of the abuse that Drake Bell…I have photos, it was my life….”
“Nobody wants attention from abuse!!!!!!!” she added. “I hope this gives girls the strength to come out about their experiences with him because I know for a fact he has hundreds of victims.”
