Why Drake Bell Refuses to 'Fall Back on' His Past 'Traumas' in a 'Moment of Weakness' (Exclusive)

"That's not going to help me move forward and change my behavior," Bell says in PEOPLE's first look at his 'The Man Enough Podcast' appearance

Drake Bell won’t use his childhood traumas to excuse the hurt he inflicted on his victim from his 2021 child endangerment charges.

In PEOPLE's first look at Bell's appearance on the mental health series The Man Enough Podcast, the 37-year-old singer-actor dispels the notion that a “moment of weakness” can rationalize causing harm to others.

“Even in moments of weakness, you need to be able to discern and recognize,” the Drake & Josh alum says. “You can’t just blame a moment of weakness of why you got in your car when you were drunk and you crashed into somebody and hurt them.”

He continues, “Even though we have had these traumas and we’ve had things that we’ve experienced, I hate to say, ‘Oh, that’s why,’ because that’s not going to help me move forward and change my behavior.”

Related: Drake Bell Arrested on Attempted Child Endangerment Charges, Pleads Not Guilty

Bell refuses to “fall back” on the idea that he can explain his actions by simply saying, “Oh, well, I’ve been hurt, so I can.”

Host and Jane the Virgin star Justin Baldoni then asked, “So that means you own that you should’ve never been texting her in the first place?”

“A hundred percent,” Bell answered, referring to the 19-year-old girl who accused him of sexual assault in 2021.

During his sentencing after pleading guilty to attempted child endangerment and disseminating matter harmful to juveniles, his victim gave an impact statement alleging Bell groomed her from the age of 12 and sexually assaulted her when she was 15.

Related: Drake Bell Recalls 'Scary' Moment of 'Not Recognizing Myself' Before Coming Forward with Sex Abuse (Exclusive)

"I accept this plea because my conduct was wrong," Bell said to the judge via Zoom. "I'm sorry that the victim was harmed in any way, but that was obviously not my intention. I have taken this matter very, very seriously. And again, I just want to apologize to her and anyone else who may have been affected by my actions."

The actor will give an interview on the April 7 episode of the exposé Quiet on Set: The Dark Side of Kids TV, detailing abuse and misconduct on Nickelodeon children’s shows. The fifth installment of the Investigation Discovery documentary series, titled Breaking the Silence, features Bell and other former child actors from Nickelodeon shows in the early 2000s.

Quiet on Set brought to light several bombshells related to the television network, including Bell revealing that dialogue coach Brian Peck repeatedly molested him as a child.

Related: ID Docuseries Goes Inside Alleged 'Toxic Environment' of Kids TV Shows Under Dan Schneider

“With Breaking the Silence, we’re digging deeper into the crucial conversations the docuseries ignited and exploring the lingering questions left in their wake to provide further insight from the brave voices who’ve spoken out previously and those who are coming forward again,” said Jason Sarlanis, President, TNT, TBS, TruTV, ID & HLN, Linear and Streaming.

Quiet on Set: Breaking the Silence premieres Sunday, April 7 at 8/7c on ID. Quiet on Set: The Dark Side of Kids TV is now streaming on Max. Additionally, Bell's interview on The Man Enough podcast drops on Monday, April 8.

If you or someone you know has experienced sexual abuse, help is available. Call the National Sexual Assault Hotline at 1-800-656-4673 or go to the NO MORE Global Directory at nomoredirectory.org to find support.

For more People news, make sure to sign up for our newsletter!

Read the original article on People.