If you were a Black fan of Boy Meets World like me, Angela (Trina McGee) and Shawn (Rider Strong) were a big deal. Aside from the standout fact that there was a Black girl in an interracial relationship with one of the leading co-stars and thus had a major recurring role in a highly popular show, Angela also stood firm in her Blackness.
However, when the now 50-year-old actress revealed just how horribly she was treated on set by her former cast members (excluding Strong, according to McGee) earlier this year, “disappointed” was an understatement.
In January, McGee wrote a series of tweets revealing her past experiences on the set of the popular ’90s TV show (which concluded in 2000) starring Ben Savage, Danielle Fishel, Will Friedle and Strong.
“Called Aunt Jemima on set during hair and make up,” McGee tweeted. “Called a bitter bitch when I quietly waited for my scene to finish rehearsing that was being f’ed up over and over due to episode featuring my character. Told ‘it was nice of you to join us’ like a stranger after 60 episodes.”
While not naming them, McGee did specify there were “three colleagues” who contributed to the “tension and disrespect” on set, which was “stressful” to her. According to Buzzfeed, McGee later revealed that Friedle was the actor who referred to her as “Aunt Jemima” and that Friedle had apologized in a “three-page letter,” after which the two discussed it and she had since forgiven him.
Additionally, McGee had referenced the time she was reunited with the cast on the set of the spinoff show, Girl Meets World. However, the welcome back was far from warm.
“Said happy hellos to be greeted with blank cold stares,” McGee recalled. “Dissed for believing in God in front of extras. Fuckery was real. All truth. stayed nice. Not mad. Just feeling free to comment on 20 plus years of disrespectful behavior.”
In June, Fishel (who portrayed Topanga) admitted that she owed McGee an apology after a fan called her out in response to posting support for “Black Lives Matter” via social media.
“I owed @realtrinamcgee an apology for being rude, cold, & distant when she guest starred on GMW (her tweet regarding warm hellos being met with cold blank stares was about me),” Fishel tweets. “Trina and I spoke over a month ago and she gracefully accepted my apology.”
In an interview with Yahoo Entertainment, McGee confirmed Fishel informed her that her rudeness was because she was “going through a lot at the time, on a personal level.” It does cause a bit of pause that McGee was the one who received that treatment, but alas, McGee seems to have found her peace with it.
Further, McGee went a little more in-depth regarding her convo with Friedle, noting that it was “healing,” though she didn’t believe his apology was “completely sincere.” McGee also revealed that Strong reached out to her via DM amid her social media call outs, writing, “I see you give no fucks now. Do you want to talk?”
Overall, she hopes this is a “teachable moment” and assures she is not trying to promote “cancel culture.”
The third colleague she referenced is suspected to be Savage (who portrayed Cory), who has yet to comment publicly on the matter. McGee confirmed she has not heard from him noting, “I do not talk to Ben Savage at all.”
(Updated 3/3/22 with new details)