'Boy Meets World' Stars Who Shaded the Show: Quotes

What really went down on the Boy Meets World set? The former stars are here to tell you!

Rider Strong, Danielle Fishel and Will Friedle, who played Shawn Hunter, Topanga Lawrence and Eric Matthews respectively, host the “Pod Meets World” podcast where they spill all the tea on their experience filming the fan-favorite series. Joined onscreen by Ben Savage as Cory Matthews, Boy Meets World aired on ABC from 1993 to 2000, and there are a bunch of behind-the-scenes secrets.

Rider, for one, recalled being “very upset” when they filmed the show’s prom episode during season 5 because of how it talked about sex.

“I was very upset with the adults on our set — the way that they were approaching this, specifically because we were not discussing safe sex,” the actor shared during a “Pod Meets World” episode from November 2022. “The fact that we would not bring up Cory and Topanga using condoms or having a discussion about birth control at all, and yet the entire episode was about whether ‘will they’ or ‘will they not’ … I just remember being so upset, and I brought it up.”

However, his conversation with the show’s creator, Michael Jacobs, didn’t go as planned.

“We were growing up in the era of AIDS, this is something that we have to talk about. When you are discussing losing your virginity, you discuss how you’re going to do it and how to be safe about it,” Rider explained, claiming that the creator “completely blew me off,” saying it was “a ridiculous thing to worry about.”

The Girl Meets World guest star added, “I felt, at the time, that that was incredibly irresponsible.”

Danielle, for her part, agreed. She recalled feeling “uncomfortable” while they were filming. “I don’t have specific memories other than just, kind of, ickiness about the week,” she added.

Aside from the lack of conversation about safe sex, some former stars — even ones not on the podcast — have shared their past experiences working on the show. Even David Trainor, a past director, recalled a not-so-nice moment with creator Michael.

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“I don’t want to be associated with anything that guy is associated with,” he shared during a July 2022 “Pod Meets World” episode, referring to a time Danielle almost got fired. “This is just not how you do things. I’m glad it became a hit, but this is disgusting.”

Michael Jacobs did not immediately respond to Life & Style’s request for comment.

Scroll through the gallery to see other times the cast and crew subtly shaded the show.

Almost Fired

Danielle recalled during a July 2022 podcast episode that she was almost fired from the show by the creator who gave her more “notes” than the rest of the cast. “Danielle, I’m going to give you your notes all at one time, at the end and I’m going to give everyone else their notes now,” the actress recalled him saying.

“’Because if I made everyone sit here through all of the notes I had for you, we would all be here for hours and no one would ever get to go home. So you’re just going to wait for the end,'” Danielle added. “From that moment on I remember my eyes welled up because I’m in front of everybody. All of the producers all of the writers all of the cast and all eyes are on me for a second.”

The actress recalled him saying, “If you don’t come back tomorrow doing this entirely differently, you are also not going to be here.” However, she made the changes and it all worked out.

Kissing Their Costars

“Rider and I talk about one of the things is the constant kissing. We were kissing girls every week and it was kind of creepy the way it kept happening,” Will told Us Weekly in August 2022. “And there was never a story that it’s not like the actresses had wonderful story lines. It was just, like, you are there to kiss us that week. It was really kind of gross.”

Trina McGee’s Experience

The actress, who played Angela Moore on the show, appeared on a September 2022 episode of “Pod Meets World” and revealed why she wasn’t in the show’s series finale. According to Trina, she was told that other stars felt she was “somehow taking our light,” which was “hurtful.” The “Pod Meets World” stars were stunned.

“Can we say for the record, Trina, that never happened,” Will told her. Trina responded, “I believe you. I can tell by your reaction.”

Playing Rachel

Actress Maitland Ward, who played Rachel on the show, told Us Weekly in September 2022 that it was “eye-opening” when she realized “how much sexual innuendo was [placed] on my character” compared to others.

“It was to me And [male characters] like Cory and Shawn, they were total f–kboys to me [on screen],”recalling some of Rachel’s story lines.

“They stole my parking space that I had worked for. Then they blame me and [have] this whole prank war that breaks out. Then they’re going through my lingerie [and] they read my diary,” the actress-turned-adult film star added. “They’re just, like, ‘Oh, we’re cute.’ And then the girls even defend them. It was just really weird.”

By the end of the show, she felt like her character had “nothing to do except be bitchy, snarky or sexy.”