Actor Drake Bell Accused Of Abuse By Former Girlfriend Melissa Lingafelt While They Lived In Los Feliz
LOS ANGELES (CBSLA) — Actor Drake Bell has been accused of abuse by his former girlfriend Melissa Lingafelt while they lived together in Los Feliz.
In a TikTok video, Lingafelt – who goes by the stage name Jimi Ono on social media – said she was 16 years old when she began dating the "Drake & Josh" star. She shared her story over several pictures of her and Bell.
"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 says in the video. "It then turned into physical – hitting, throwing, everything. At the pinnacle of it, he drug (sic) me down the stairs of our house in Los Feliz – my face hit every step on the way down."
Lingafelt says she has photos of her injuries from the incident. She also alluded to his involvement with underage girls, but didn't elaborate because "I'm scared."
It's not clear if Lingafelt ever reported any of these incidents to the police.
"I don't really care if anyone believes me, as this is my story of my life, and something that I went through. It wasn't until recently that I actually realized that abuse isn't something all women have to go through," she said.
In a statement to People magazine, Bell said he never abused Lingafelt and called her allegations false.
