Danielle Fishel has been blunt about her time as quirky sweetheart Topanga Lawrence on beloved sitcom, Boy Meets World. She has shared the ups and downs of her time on set, including feeling like her “body was a problem” during the sitcom's run. But speaking up has given her a certain reputation, and Fishel shared with fellow '90s TV queen Jennie Garth why she thinks she got labelled ‘difficult’ years after BMW was over, as well as and during its sequel series Girl Meets World.
She does make some valid points, too, when joining Garth’s I Choose Me podcast to discuss everything from boundaries to growing up in the industry to standing up for herself. Addressing how these elements played a role in why she had to fight to not be treated like the ‘old Topanga’ when she joined GMW, Fishel said:
I had been a real go-with-the-flow, not ruffle any feathers, be so easy to work with, a consummate professional. And, essentially, what that meant is that the producers felt like they could tell me to do whatever they wanted me to do, and I would never push back. And, when we got to Girl Meets World, I think I had been so used to, in my personal life, going away from that, that when we went to the set, and I was now a new person, an adult, a grownup, who had thoughts and opinions of her own and wasn’t incredibly shy about sharing them.
She’s not the only former BMW cast member that isn't 'shy' about sharing, either, given her former costars, particularly Rider Strong and Will Friedle, have been blunt about not liking certain storylines for their characters while co-hosting the podcast Pod Meets World over the years. Additionally, this isn’t the first time any of them have spoken about struggles on the two sets. Fishel and Strong previously reflected on having to “pick a lot of battles” with GMW’s young cast. However, Fishel states that she never brought up any issues in front of a large group, rather she:
It was more like, when something happened I felt uncomfortable with, I would then make time to go in and talk to the people I felt uncomfortable with and say, ‘Can I talk to you about something? This makes me feel uncomfortable.’ And the response was, ‘Well, she’s gone crazy! Have you seen what’s going on with her? She’s gone crazy. She’s got rules and boundaries about the way we’re allowed to talk to her and to touch her and to interact with her. It’s shocking!’
However, the difficulties extend beyond creative struggles, as the show is also known for having a lot of BTS drama between costars. There has been an alleged estrangement between Fishel (and the cast) with Savage for the last few years. The cast have said they thought they were on “friendly terms” with the actor and even invited him onto the podcast. But claim he refused and then unfollowed them on social media. They state they haven’t heard from him since.
But most of the drama seems to be between Fishel and Maitland Ward, who has previously claimed to have issues with the Topanga actor. Ward has even opened up about a fight between the two that occurred on the PMW podcast. The current adult star stated she felt like Fishel was “luring” her onto the show to pick a fight. This has gone into her being branded as 'difficult.' When Garth asked her about this, Fishel had a direct answer:
‘She’s difficult.’ There was a part of me that was like, ‘Am I? Am I difficult?’ And having to then decide, ‘Okay, well, I guess, if this is difficult.’ The alternative doesn’t make me feel like I can live with myself, so I guess I just have to be difficult. And that has to be okay with me. I guess I am a difficult person, even though I didn’t think any of the things I was asking for or requesting was difficult.
The actor has gone into feeling uncomfortable on set before, such as not mincing words about the BMW weight-loss storyline she disliked. And I’ve always admired her being straightforward. While she didn’t say anything when producers didn’t want her to wear a sleeveless dress during the prom episode, Fishel has learned from that experience to speak her mind. Although this behavior has made part of her wonder if what others say about her is true:
I did also take a step back and say, ‘Am I inserting myself into a conversation about something that maybe doesn’t involve me.’ Maybe, unless it’s protecting a kid from something, maybe I need to mind my own business if it doesn’t actually pertain to me. So there were times when I thought, maybe I overstepped a little there, but I had a producer credit on the show.
Garth wonders if this was the producers attempt to "keep [Fishel] in a box" and shares that it strikes a “weird cord” with her to hear Fishel wonder if she was actually difficult. The actor clarifies that during this time of her life she was going through a divorce. This made her life at home and GMW work both feel “broken and isolating.”
However, Fishel sees a silver lining in this as the experiences made her choose to focus on herself. And it makes me happy to know that she's able to find positivity in her BMW and GMW experiences.
