“We, unfortunately, both called each other terrible names, as often happens when couples are breaking up. But that is it.”
Drake Bell denied the abuse allegations made against him by his ex girlfriend Melissa Lingafelt.
On Wednesday, Lingafelt posted a TikTok video claiming the Nickelodeon star physically and verbally abused her during their relationship from 2006 to 2009.
“First off I’d like to start out by saying, I don’t really care if anyone believes me, as this is my story and my life, and something that I went through,” Lingafelt began. “It wasn’t until recently that I actually realized that abuse isn’t something that all women have to go through.”
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The 30-year-old singer said she was 16 when she began dating Bell.
“It wasn’t until about a year when the verbal abuse started,” she continued. “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 (sic) me down the stairs of our house. My face hit every step on the way down. I have photos of this,” she alleged.
“I don’t even want to get into the underage girls thing,” she added. “I mean I will, but I’m scared.”
In a statement given to Variety late Wednesday night, Bell, now 34, said the claims were untrue.
“I never abused my ex-girlfriend or did so many of the other things Melissa falsely claimed on her TikTok video,” began the statement. “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.”
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“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.”
Lingafelt, however, took to her Instagram later to double down on her allegations, saying friends at the time were aware of the 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,” she wrote. “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.”
“Nobody wants attention from abuse!!!!!!!” she continued. “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.”
If you or someone you know is suffering from domestic violence, call the National Domestic Violence Hotline at 1-800-799-7233.
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