Throughout its seven seasons, Boy Meets World has some very memorable storylines and episodes. Of course, while the TGIF sitcom remains beloved today, not every aspect of it necessarily holds up story-wise. Danielle Fishel -- whose character, Topanga Lawrence, goes through a lot on the show -- recalled how she particularly disliked Topanga’s weight-loss storyline. (And the actress really didn't mince words.)
Fishel has been open about her past body image issues and how a lot of those manifested while she was filming Boy Meets World. She previously recalled feeling like her body was a problem and, in addition to that, the writers conceived a storyline centering on Topanga’s weight, which was developed during the show's seventh and final season. In “She’s Having My Baby Back Ribs,” Topanga feels more self-conscious about her body as her husband, Cory, believes she’s pregnant.
Fishel dissected the episode on Pod Meets World with her co-stars and co-hosts Will Friedle and Rider Strong. While the trio went over one of the scenes, Strong pointed out how uncomfortable Fishel probably was filming it, but the actress admitted it was the one scene she really remembered because she was “super honest” with herself at that time. She recalled how she gained some weight throughout the course of the show as she got older and how she really felt about it all by the time she filmed that Season 7 episode:
When I started the show at 12, I did weigh 94 pounds and, now, I’m 19, and I weigh you know, 115 or whatever it is, and I have put on that weight. And it is my responsibility, and as an actor, my body is part of my instrument, and I’m supposed to, and not look at everyone else. You do all that, and then you also go — I’m sure there was a part of me that understood why parts of it were funny then too, so I’m like, ‘It is funny, so why am I taking it so personally?’
In the '90s, Boy Meets World was known for presenting some very raw storylines, especially since the characters were coming of age (as the actors were as well). As a result, the series' writers tackled issues that kids, teens and young adults could identify with, such as body image. The aforementioned scene discussed on the podcast sees Topanga trying to fit into a pair of jeans, and Fishel explains why that portion bothers her the most:
I remember doing the wardrobe fitting for these jeans, and they were a size either 26 or 27, which is a 2 or a 4…. I knew no matter how I feel about my own body, because I was definitely like, ‘I’m huge, I’m fat, I’m disgusting.’ I knew that, factually, a size four is something most American women would think of as being borderline emaciated, and yet we’re gonna do an entire episode around the fact that this size four woman has to be this concerned about her weight and her body. And that made me angry.
In hindsight, while it can be important to show a storyline like this, it's evident that it can really have an impact on an actor like Fishel, whose personal experience aligned with it. What makes the situation more ironic is the fact that within the show, Topanga doesn't even have any need for concern (a point that ultimately comes up at the end of the episode). Fishel herself also apparently didn't see any reason to have such messaging and also said this of the jeans scene:
It was like in that scene, in this scene in particular, I was aware of, ‘What are we saying to women?’ And I felt it the most in this scene.
Considering Fishel was a young adult in the public eye who had been dealing with body issues, the storyline definitely could not come at a worse time. Even Strong admitted he could tell that Fishel wasn’t happy about it, leading her to say:
[I was] not happy at all.
Danielle Fishel isn't the only actress who played a character on a '90s sitcom who dealt with body image challenges. For instance, Jodie Sweetin and Andrea Barber revealed in 2025 that the Full House episode that makes them uncomfortable is the one where DJ (played by Candace Cameron Bure) is on a strict diet for a birthday party to the point where she collapses.
As for Boy Meets World, the cast has been honest about their appraisal of the show, with many of those thoughts having been shared on Pod Meets World. For instance, Rider Strong was displeased with an alcohol-centric episode. The series still does have plenty of strong points but, as a fan, I can still appreciate Danielle Fishel and co. sharing their honest opinions on its shortcomings. On that note, know that BMW can be streamed with a Disney+ subscription.
