Actor Drake Bell's ex-girlfriend Melissa Lingafelt posted a TikTok in which she accuses Bell of physically and verbally abusing her during the course of their relationship. She also posted allegations from other women that he preyed on and sexually assaulted underage girls.
Lingafelt, a 30-year-old singer and actress who goes by the moniker Jimi Ono on social media, posted a TikTok video on August 12 in which she begins to detail abuse she allegedly suffered at the hands of the Drake & Josh actor during their 2-year relationship, starting in 2006. "This is my truth," she wrote in the caption alongside the video. "I hope this message reaches young girls, and that no one has to go through what I did. #2020survivor."
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Bell responded to the allegations and denied the claims made by Lingafelt. "I never abused my ex-girlfriend or did so many of the other things Melissa falsely claimed on her TikTok video," Bell told PEOPLE in a statement.
Lingafelt says she started dating Bell when she was 16 and homeschooled, and quickly moved in with the actor in Los Feliz, California, while she was trying to make it as a singer. She said in the post that it "wasn't until recently that I actually realized that abuse isn't something that all women have to go through."
One year into living with Bell, Lingafelt claims that she suffered the "worst type of verbal abuse you could ever imagine" and "it then turned to physical — hitting, throwing, everything." She also describes a time in which Bell allegedly dragged her down a flight of stairs — an incident she says she has photo evidence of.
Bell responded to the verbal abuse claims, saying the two "called each other terrible names, as often happens when couples are breaking up, but that is it."
"I do not know if today’s behavior is some kind of misguided quest for more money or attention," Bell continued, alluding to a time last year when he says Lingafelt asked for financial support "during a tough time," which he allegedly did. "But I cannot and will not allow these offensive and defamatory allegations to go unchallenged and I am reviewing my legal options."
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Lingafelt ended the video by saying not even wanting to get into the "underage girls thing." She then posted six TikToks — one screenshot of a text conversation with a friend, who she calls one of her many "witnesses," who backs her claims, and five others containing screenshots of DMs she received on Instagram from women after she posted her story. One woman claimed to have been sexually assaulted by Bell when he came to play a benefit concert at her school when she was in the eighth grade. Another accused Bell of having sex with her 15-year-old friend when he was 20.
"Nobody wants attention from abuse!!!!!!!" Lingafelt wrote in an Instagram story, responding to those who have accused her of fabricating her story. "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."
Refinery29 reached out to both Bell and Lingafelt for comment.
If you are experiencing domestic violence, please call the National Domestic Violence Hotline at 1-800-799-7233 or TTY 1-800-787-3224 for confidential support.
If you have experienced sexual violence and are in need of crisis support, please call the RAINN Sexual Assault Hotline at 1-800-656-HOPE (4673).
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