Drake Bell has reportedly spoken out after being accused of abusing his ex-girlfriend Melissa Lingafelt. Melissa, who dated the actor beginning in 2006, alleged in a series of videos on TikTok that the “Drake and Josh” star was both an “alcoholic” and “abusive” over the course of their relationship.
@jimionoStorytime? ##survivor2020♬ Bulletproof – La Roux
“Think you can hurt my feelings? I lived with and dated an alcoholic, abusive Drake Bell from 16-19,” the 30-year-old captioned a video set to the song “Bulletproof.” The clip gained nearly half a million views in the day after it was posted.
The actress later shared a video that showed throwback photos of her and then-boyfriend Drake together as she narrated her side of the story.
@jimionoThis is my truth. I hope this message reaches young girls, and that no one has to go through what I did. ##2020survivor
“First I would like to start out with saying that I don’t really care if anyone believes me, as this is my story and my life and something that I went through. It wasn’t until recently that I actually realized abuse isn’t something that all women have to go through,” she began.
“When I first started dating Drake I was 16, I was homeschooled, I moved in with him, I was singing. 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. It then turned into physical. Hitting, throwing, everything,” Lingafelt alleged. “At the pinnacle of it, he drug (sic) me down the stairs of our house in Los Feliz. My face hit every step on the way down,” she continued.
Drake has strongly denied the accusations. A spokesperson for the actor reportedly told Variety on Drake’s behalf, “I never abused my ex-girlfriend or did so many of the other things Melissa falsely claimed on her TikTok video. 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). I do not know if today’s behavior 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,” the statement reportedly concluded.
But Melissa only doubled down on her allegations, taking to Instagram to say “Nobody wants attention from abuse!!!”
“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 put me through. I have so many witnesses, I have photos, it was my life. If you don’t believe me, it is clear to me what kind of person you are, and I don’t need that on my side,” she wrote on her Instagram stories.
Access Hollywood has reached out to Lingafelt and Bell for comment.