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Drake Bell squashes rumors of physical abuse spread by ex-girlfriend: report

Drake Bell braved the storm after his ex-girlfriend accused him of physical abuse in a viral TikTok video

By Web Desk
August 13, 2020
Drake Bell squashes rumors of physical abuse spread by ex-girlfriend: report

Teenage icon Drake Bell came under fire after reports of alleged abuse were hurled his in a TikTok video by his ex-girlfriend.

According to the allegations, Melissa Lingafelt, better known for her stage name Jimi Ono, claimed that Drake physically and verbally abused her during their relationship which ended nearly a decade ago.

In her one-minute clip, Melissa began by saying, “First, I would like to start out with saying I don’t really care if anyone believes me as this is my story and my life and something I went through.”

“It wasn’t until recently that I actually realized that abuse is something that all women have to go through. When I started dating Drake, I was 16. I was home-schooled, I moved in with him, I was singing. It wasn’t until about a year when the verbal abuse started.”

Showcasing her stash of old photos, the singer went on to say, “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 me down the stairs of our house in Los Feliz. My face hit every step on the way down. I have photos of this. I don’t even want to get into the underage girls' thing. I mean I will, but I’m scared.”(sic)

However, Drake refused to sit idle and clapped back with a statement of his own which he made to Variety. In his statement, Drake claimed, “I never abused my ex-girlfriend or did so many of the other things Melissa falsely claimed on her TikTok 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 also noted how Melissa got in contact with him late last year for financial support. “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.”