TheBoy Meets Worldrewatch podcast,Pod Meets World, took an unexpectedly intense turn during its latest episode with guest star Maitland Ward. A staple of 1990s television,Boy Meets Worldfollowed the coming-of-age journey of Cory Matthews (Ben Savage) as he navigated life, love, and friendship alongside best friends Shawn (Rider Strong) and Topanga (Danielle Fishel). In 2014, Disney Channel revived the franchise withGirl Meets World, a sequel series centered on Cory and Topanga’s daughter, Riley. Ward joinedthe cast ofBoy Meets Worldas Rachel McGuire in season 6.
OnPod Meets World’s February 23 episode, Ward confronted co-host Danielle Fishel about their strained relationship (viaVariety). Ward expressed her long-held feelings of exclusion, particularly referencing an uncomfortable moment during a visit to theGirl Meets Worldset in 2015. The conversation, alongside co-hosts Will Friedle and Rider Strong, spiraled into debates about perceived social media slights, differing memories of their time on set, and Ward’s criticism of the podcast’s portrayal ofBoy Meets Worldand its creators. Read the conversation below:
Danielle Fishel: Do you hate us?
Maitland Ward: No, I do not hate you. I think that you hate me, because you wouldn’t speak to me on ‘Girl Meets World,’ and that was hurtful.
In 2013, Ward sent Fishel a heartfelt message on Facebook, only to later discover that they were no longer connected, as she had been removed from Fishel’s friends list. However, Fishel, who rarely uses Facebook, didn’t see the message until nearly a decade later in 2022. It was only after Will Friedle reached out to Ward about appearing on the podcast that he mentioned the message to Fishel, prompting her to look it up and ask Ward for her phone number.
Fishel: You wrote back to Will, ‘No, let’s just save it for the podcast. It’ll be great for the ratings.’ I believe the official quote was ‘rock the stats.’
Ward: You did not speak to me on the set of Girl Meets World. You had an attitude about it. There was some beef between us, and I didn’t get it. I didn’t know. I didn’t know if you thought I was trying to steal attention… I was genuinely confused why we wouldn’t be good.
Fishel: It was a very difficult set. Let’s put it this way, the memories we have of the fun set of ‘Boy Meets World’ were not the memories or the fun set of ‘Girl Meets World.’ I went into it expecting it to be, and it wasn’t. It was a rather tumultuous place. I felt very ostracized. I felt very criticized. I felt a lot of different things being on that set… I am sorry that you thought I had something personally against you.
Co-hosts Rider Strong and Will Friedle also weighed in, with Friedle offering a response regarding Savage’s estrangement from the cast.
Ward: I think there’s a divide too, because you hate Ben and you guys hate Michael.
Will Friedle: Ben is one of the most important people I’ve ever met in my life, and I can’t stand the fact that he won’t speak to us. And that’s what it is: He won’t speak to us. I can show you the last three years, literally, of messages and in the middle of a conversation with Ben, he just bailed on me. Ben absolutely one day woke up and said, ‘I don’t want Will in my life,’ and never told me why.
Fishel: Do you listen to our podcast? Because you did then go on one of the TMZ articles and say that our podcast is very negative.
Ward: No, not regularly. I don’t understand why this is a grilling session right now.
Fishel: The same way you wrote your book about your experiences doesn’t mean that they’re negative. They’re just experiences… So you don’t listen to the podcast regularly, but your overall opinion of it is that we are negative about Michael and Ben and the show.
Ward: Let’s be honest about this. You’re trying to go at me now to get the ratings because you know that people will be interested. I just wanted to remember the good times.
Fishel: I’m not the one who wanted to go for ratings… This is what you asked for. When TMZ runs into you on the street, that’s the time when you want to drag our names through the mud.
Ward: You’ve done a lot of things that are disingenuous. You go against Michael all the time. You’re not doing it just to get listens?
Strong: No, if I’m talking about Michael yelling at me, that’s my experience. I was yelled at. I watched him do things. I can describe that, that’s the truth.
Ward: You guys have careers and lives because of that show.
Fishel: So is the price we pay for that… silence?
What This Pod Meets World Feud Means
The Real-Life Drama Of Boy Meets World
Danielle Fishel and Maitland Ward both starred on the beloved ABC sitcomBoy Meets World, but their time on the show differed significantly. Fishel’s character, Topanga Lawrence, was a core part ofall seven seasons ofBoy Meets World, while Ward’s Rachel McGuire was introduced in 1998 and remained until the show’s conclusion in 2000.
Ward’s visit to theGirl Meets Worldset in 2015 played a major role in the tension. While she initially celebrated the Disney Channel sequel, she later expressed frustration at being the only original cast member who was not asked to return. Though Rachel McGuire was referenced in dialogue,Ward never appeared in the reboot series, which ran for three seasons from 2014 to 2017. This perceived exclusion, combined with her feelings of being ignored by Fishel and others during her set visit, seemingly contributed to the resentment discussed on the podcast.
Why Disney Banned 3 Boy Meets World Episodes From Airing
Although a wholesome show about coming-of-age, Boy Meets World dealt with certain subjects that were deemed unacceptable to air on Disney Channel.
Ward transitioned into the adult film industry in 2013, something they discussed in the episode before tensions escalated. Since 2022, she has been outspoken about which formerBoy Meets Worldco-stars have kept in touch and which have not. ThePod Meets Worldhosts have been transparent about their own unresolved issues, particularly regarding Ben Savage, who—as Fishel, Friedle, and Rider Strong revealed in 2023—no longer speaks to them, as well as their negative experiences withBoy Meets Worldproducer Michael Jacobs.
Despite the heated conversation, the episode ended on a more amicable note.Fishel reassured Ward that shedoes not hate her “in the slightest”and even extended an invitation for Ward to return to the podcast when they discussBoy Meets World’sseason 7 prank war episode, which heavily featured Rachel.
An Unexpectedly Emotional Deep Dive Into The Cast
ThisPod Meets Worldepisode offered a rare, unfiltered glimpse into the off-set relationships among theBoy Meets Worldcast. What started as a nostalgic rewatch podcast became an emotional airing of grievances, highlighting how career shifts, changing friendships, and the wear of time has shaped their lives. While tensions between Maitland Ward and Danielle Fishel eventually cooled, this episode proved that even decades later, theBoy Meets Worldlegacy continues to spark passionate, and sometimes uncomfortable, conversations on social and personal issues.
Boy Meets World
Cast
In this coming-of-age sitcom, Cory Matthews navigates middle and eventually high school, exploring his relationships with his friends and family and learning life lessons along the way.
