Drake Bell is "exploring [his] legal options" after being accused of abuse by his ex-girlfriend.
The 34-year-old singer-and-actor has spoken out to defend himself after Melissa Lingafelt accused him of being both verbally and physically abusive during their two-year relationship, which ended in 2008.
Melissa made her claims in a TikTok video, in which she accused the ‘American Satan’ actor of dragging her down the stairs in the home they shared.
She said: "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.
"It wasn’t until recently that I actually realised that abuse isn’t something that all women have to go through.
"I moved in with him, I was singing. 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. It then turned to physical — hitting, throwing, everything…
"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."
In response, Drake has denied the allegations and claimed his relationship with Melissa, 30, had been so amicable, she had reached out and he’d given her "financial support" just a year ago.
He said: "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.
"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."