Drake Bell has denied allegations of abuse made by his ex-girlfriend Melissa Lingafelt.
Melissa, who goes by the stage name Jimi Ono, accused the 34-year-old of verbal and physical abuse in a video shared to TikTok on Wednesday.
The Drake and Josh star released a statement following the allegations to E!News, stating: “I never abused my ex-girlfriend or did so many of the other things Melissa falsely claimed on her Tik Tok 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,” he continued.
“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 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.”
The TikTok video in question begins with Melissa saying: “First, I’d like to start off 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.”
“It wasn’t until recently that I actually realized that abuse isn’t something that all women have to go through,” she continued.
“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,” she alleged.
“It then turned to physical — hitting, throwing, everything,” she added, accusing Bell of dragging her down some stairs in their home at one point during their relationship – which lasted from August 2006 to February 2009.
@jimionoThis is my truth. I hope this message reaches young girls, and that no one has to go through what I did. ##2020survivor
“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 claimed.
“I don’t even want to get into the underage girls thing,” she added, “I mean I will, but I’m scared.”
“This is my truth. I hope this message reaches young girls, and that no one has to go through what I did,” she captioned the video.
Melissa also addressed the allegations on her Instagram stories, writing: “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.”
“Nobody wants attention from abuse!!!!!!! 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.”
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