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Drake Bell is speaking out after his ex-girlfriend Melissa Lingafelt accused him of verbal and physical abuse on Wednesday.
Lingafelt, a singer and actress, posted a lengthy video on TikTok under her stage name Jimi Ono, detailing the alleged assault during their relationship from August 2006 to February 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, 30, began. "It wasn't until recently that I actually realized that abuse isn't something that all women have to go through."
7 WORST NICKELODEON SCANDALS
Melissa Lingafelt and Drake Bell during Nickelodeon’s 20th Annual Kids’ Choice Awards
(Jeff Kravitz/FilmMagic, Inc)
She continued: “I moved in with him, I was singing. It wasn't until about a year when the verbal abuse started.”
The singer described the verbal abuse as “the worst” someone could “ever imagine.”
“It then turned to physical — hitting, throwing, everything,” Lingafelt claimed. “At the pinnacle of it, he drug [sic] me down the stairs of our house on Los Feliz. My face hit every step on the way down. I have photos of this.”
She didn’t, however, share 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 did so many of the other things Melissa falsely claimed on her TikTok video."
Actor Drake Bell poses at the 2011 Nickelodeon Kids Choice Awards
(REUTERS/Fred Prouser)
The “Drake & Josh” alum continued: “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."
Lingafelt also alluded to the "Drake & Josh" star having a preference for minors.
“I don't even want to get into the underage girls thing. I mean I will, but I'm scared,” she claimed in the TikTok video.
At the time they started dating, she said she was 16 and Bell would have been 20.
Melissa Lingafelt and Drake Bell during Nickelodeon’s 20th Annual Kids’ Choice Awards
(Chris Polk/FilmMagic)
Bell claimed Lingafelt reached out last year for “financial support” and he sent her money.
“I do not know if today’s behavior is some kind of misguided quest for more money or attention," Bell questioned. "But I cannot and will not allow these offensive and defamatory allegations to go unchallenged and I am reviewing my legal options."
Lingafelt later took to Instagram and doubled down on the abuse claims.
"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 on her Instagram Story. "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 added: "Nobody wants attention from abuse!!!!!!!"
The singer also claimed Bell has “hundreds of victims” and she hoped telling her story would give “girls the strength to come out about their experiences with him.”
Lingafelt concluded by sharing direct messages from several women accusing Bell of having sexual relationships with them while underage.
One of the alleged messages appeared to be from Bell’s ex-girlfriend Paydin Layne LoPachin, whom he reportedly dated from 2011 to 2016. LoPachin, 32, however, has yet to publicly comment.
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If you or someone you know is suffering from domestic violence, call the National Domestic Violence Hotline at 1-800-799-7233.
If you or someone you know is suffering from abuse, please contact the National Sexual Assault Hotline at 1-800-656-4673.
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