Derrick Bell Blasts SAG-AFTRA After Losing Health Insurance: 'Don't Be an Actor' Don't join SAG

"Drake & Josh" actor Drake Bell is blasting SAG-AFTRA after revealing he doesn't qualify for health insurance. On her Instagram story on Tuesday, Bell posted a screenshot of the SAG-AFTRA health plan website that says, “You are not currently eligible for health plan coverage. Your reported covered income from […]

"Drake & Josh" actor Drake Bell is blasting SAG-AFTRA after revealing he doesn't qualify for health insurance.

On her Instagram story on Tuesday, Bell posted an image from the SAG-AFTRA health plan website that read: “You are not currently eligible for health plan coverage. Your reported covered income from July 2025 through June 2026 does not meet the minimum eligibility requirements, or you no longer meet the eligibility rules." Related Story Review 'The Housewife': Naomi Watts A watchable but weak true story of hidden Nazism in suburban Queens Review 'The Ancestors': An exquisite Eanna Hardwicke is a whimsical elegy for a lost generation.

The web page says Bell earned $17,480.53 and needs $11,452.47 more to qualify, reaching the $28,933 required for the SAG-AFTRA health plan. Popular in Variety

"Don't be an actor. Don't join SAG. You can work for 35 years and they still say [middle finger emoji]," Bell wrote on the screenshot. He then tagged SAG-AFTRA and its president, "Lord of the Rings" and "The Goonies" actor Sean Austin, in his scathing message.

"@SAGAFTRA really though @SeanAstin you're doing a great job. Can you not use actors to act things out? They literally know how to say the words on camera."

Bell has recently turned to music and voice acting after her acting career slowed down following Nickelodeon's Drake and Josh in the 2000s. In 2024, she appeared in the documentary series The Silent Series: The Dark Side of Children's Television and revealed that she was sexually abused as a teenager by dialogue coach Brian Peck.

Bell is the latest celebrity to speak out about the difficulties of getting SAG-AFTRA health insurance. "Extraordinary" actor Jack Haven and "Princess Diaries" star Heather Matarazzo both revealed last month that they won't be eligible for health insurance if they don't find more work soon.

"I'm in an emergency," Hyun said in a YouTube video at the time. "I need to make $4,000 by the end of the month to qualify for SAG health insurance starting in January." Hawn later got enough work after the public call, and Matarazzo shared that he had faced a similar situation.

I'm literally in the same boat right now. Many actors are my colleagues." "I remember when we didn't have to make a minimum income to qualify for insurance," he wrote. "I am delighted to see that Jack has received an offer which will allow them to qualify for 2027."

Variety has reached out to representatives for SAG-AFTRA and Bell for further comment.