Drake Bell speaks out after his ex-girlfriend Melissa Lingafelt accused him on Wednesday of verbal and physical abuse.
Lingafelt, a singer and actress, posted a long video on TikTok under her stage name Jimi Ono, detailing the alleged attack during her relationship from August 2006 to February 2009.
“At first I would like to start saying, I’m not interested in anyone believing me, because this is my story and my life, and something I went through,” Lingafelt, 30, began. “It was ‘until recently I realized that abuse is not something that all women have to go through.’
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Melissa Lingafelt and Drake Bell during Nickelodeon’s 20th annual Kids’ Choice Awards
(Jeff Kravitz / FilmMagic, Inc.)
She went on to say, ‘I live with him, I sing. Only a year did the verbal abuse begin. ”
The singer described the verbal abuse as ‘the worst’ anyone could ‘ever’ imagine.
“It was then about physicality – hitting, throwing, everything,” Lingafelt claimed. ‘At the height of it, he drugs [sic] me down the stairs of our house on Los Feliz. My face hit every step of the way. I have photos of this. ”
However, she did not share any photos on social media.
A representative for Bell, 34, did not immediately respond to Fox News’ request for comment, but the former Nickelodeon star denied the allegations in a statement to People.
Bell said he “never abused my ex-girlfriend or that she did many of the other things Melissa did wrong on her TikTok video.”
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Actor Drake Bell poses at the Nickelodeon Kids Choice Awards in 2011
(REUTERS / Fred Prouser)
The ‘Drake & Josh’ alumnus went on to say, “When our relationship ended – more than a decade ago – we, unfortunately, called each other terrible names, as often happens when couples break up. But that’s it.”
Lingafelt also pointed out that the “Drake & Josh” star had a preference for minors.
‘I do not even want to get involved with underage girls. I mean I will, but I’m scared, ‘they claimed in the TikTok video.
At the time she started dating, she said she was 16 and Bell would have been 20.
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Melissa Lingafelt and Drake Bell during Nickelodeon’s 20th annual Kids’ Choice Awards
(Chris Polk / FilmMagic)
Bell claimed that Lingafelt came to ‘financial support’ last year and he sent her money.
“I do not know if today’s behavior is a kind of wrong desire for more money or attention,” Bell asked. “But I can and will not allow these offensive and defamatory allegations to go unintentionally and I will check my legal options.”
Lingafelt later took to Instagram and doubled down on the abuse claims.
“Anyone who really knows me and has been a friend of mine for the last 15 years knows all too well the abuse that Drake Bell continues to inflict on me,” she wrote on her Instagram Story. “I have so many witnesses, I have photos, it was my life. If you do not believe me, it is clear to me what kind of person you are, and I do not need that on my part.”
She added: “Nobody wants attention from abuse !!!!!!!”
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The singer also claimed that Bell had “hundreds of victims” and she hoped her story would tell “give girls the strength to come to terms with their experiences with him.”
Lingafelt concluded by sharing direct messages from several women who accused Bell of having sexual relations with her while they were minors.
One of the expected messages came from Bell’s ex-girlfriend Paydin Layne LoPachin, whom he allegedly dated from 2011 to 2016. However, LoPachin, 32, has not yet made public comments.
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If you or someone you know suffers from domestic violence, call the National Domestic Violence Hotline at 1-800-799-7233.
If you or someone you know suffers from abuse, contact the National Sexual Assault Hotline at 1-800-656-4673.
