Actor Drake Bell has denied ever abusing his former girlfriend Melissa Lingafelt following allegations she made on TikTok on August 12.
Lingafelt, 30, said in a video posted on her social media account that they dated 10 years ago when she was 16 and he was an adult, and that he would verbally and physically abuse her.
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“I was homeschooled, I moved in with him, I was singing. It wasn’t until about a year when the verbal abuse started,” she said over a video montage that showed images of them when they were together.
“And when I say verbal abuse, imagine the worst type of verbal abuse you could ever imagine, and that was what I got. It then turned into physical — hitting, throwing, everything. At the pinnacle of it, he drug me down the stairs of our house in Los Feliz. My face hit every step on the way down. I have photos of this,” she added.
Bell, 24, responded through a statement saying the claims made in the video are false.
“I never abused my ex-girlfriend or did so many of the other things Melissa falsely claimed on her TikTok video,” the statement to Variety read. “As our relationship ended — more than a decade ago — we, unfortunately, both called each other terrible names, as often happens when couples are breaking up. But that is it.”
“Clearly, Melissa still felt close enough to me just last year that she was comfortable reaching out to ask me to provide her with financial support during a tough time (which I did),” he added. “I do not know if today’s behaviour is some kind of misguided quest for more money or attention. But I cannot and will not allow these offensive and defamatory allegations to go unchallenged and I am reviewing my legal options.”
Bell is best known for his roles in Nickelodeon’s ‘The Amanda Show’ and ‘Drake & Josh’. He has also done voice acting and made music.
