Kirk Cameron says Hollywood is dark place with too much perversion: 'God has exposed them'
Former child actor Kirk Cameron opened up this week about the unsettling behavior he witnessed from his former dialogue coach Brian Peck, a convicted sex offender and one of the focuses of the new documentary series "Quiet on Set: The Dark Side of Kids TV."
The 53-year-old devout Christian actor who starred in the '80s sitcom "Growing Pains," spoke with The Daily Wire on Monday, detailing how, as a child actor working in Hollywood, he had a firsthand look into the "disturbing" behavior of those in the business.
Cameron claimed he witnessed the behavior of Peck, his former personal dialogue coach on "Growing Pains." Peck, a registered sex offender who police say committed "lewd acts" with a minor he was said to be coaching, who was later revealed as Nickelodeon star Drake Bell.
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"So, the evil, the darkness, the twisted sickness of Hollywood has been going on for a long time," Cameron said in the interview. "I started acting when I was 9 years old. I began 'Growing Pains' at 14 years old. And I was suspicious that that stuff was going on behind the curtains even when I was working on 'Growing Pains.'"
"And there were several young boys like us [Cameron and Leonardo DiCaprio] that he [Peck] interacted with on a regular basis," Cameron said. "So, it's shocking. It's sickening."
The documentary highlights claims of abuse and alleges a toxic work environment behind the scenes at Nickelodeon.
In one episode of the documentary, a clip from "Growing Pains" shows DiCaprio at a young age, with Peck continuously rubbing DiCaprio's arms and touching him.
Cameron noted that he remembers Peck would typically behave that way.
"That's the kind of thing you would see and make you pause and go, 'there's a little flag on the field,' but not enough to prove something worse," the actor said.
Cameron worked on "Growing Pains" from 1985 to 1992. He also said he worked with the executive producer and showrunner, Steven Marshall.
In 2010, Marshall was arrested and later convicted for possession and distribution of child pornography, The New York Post reported.
Marshall was sentenced to 7.5 years in a federal prison for distribution of child pornography after he was arrested by an undercover federal agent who posed as a pedophile.
Cameron stated that it was later discovered in court that Marshall never had "physical contact' with any kids he bragged about violating.
After the documentary's release, Bell of the Nickelodeon show "Drake and Josh" opened up about how he was the John Doe from the sexual abuse case from 2004 involving Peck.
Peck pleaded no contest to the charges and was sentenced to 16 months in prison.
Cameron told The Daily Wire that he is thankful to his parents for keeping him safe in the "predatory environment," noting that his mother "was on the set every day when I was a minor on 'Growing Pains.'"
"Thank God I got out of there unscathed in the 1980s. Those people who did this stuff to these kids are the same kind of people in the industry today. Still making twisted, sick, perverted material that's hurting children today. And they need to be completely rooted out and replaced," Cameron continued.
He said he believes the documentary is only the beginning of exposing Hollywood's darkness and perversion.
"What we are seeing now … is an industry that tries to indemnify, exonerate the very pedophiles that we say we want to get rid of, because they are the pedophiles," he said, adding that "when you take God out of Hollywood or politics they become corrupted."
"God has exposed them. He's drug the evil out into the middle of the street in broad daylight and this is the time for brave Americans to take charge of their children's entertainment and their education and start doing something about it."
Nicole VanDyke is a reporter for The Christian Post.
