Trina McGee Supports ‘Boy Meets World’ Cast Mate Danielle Fishel’s for ‘Holding Her Ground’ In Showdown with Maitland Ward

Former “Boy Meets World” star Trina McGee has publicly thrown her support behind Danielle Fishel following a tense podcast confrontation between Fishel and their former co-star Maitland Ward.

McGee, who portrayed Angela Moore on the hit ’90s sitcom, took to Instagram with a passionate endorsement of Fishel after seeing her former colleagues go viral following the recent clash.

“I have never been more proud of @daniellefishel in the second half of that show. Speaking clearly and holding her ground is the way I like to handle my business also. That’s why I do frrrruvks with her,” McGee wrote alongside a clip of a fan reacting to the heated exchange.

The drama erupted when Ward appeared on “Pod Meets World,” the rewatch podcast hosted by former “Boy Meets World” cast mates Fishel (Topanga Lawrence), Rider Strong (Shawn Hunter), and Will Friedle (Eric Matthews) on Monday, Feb. 24.

The reunion quickly turned contentious when Fishel bluntly asked Ward “Do you hate us?” at the one-hour mark.

Ward, who played Rachel McGuire during the show’s later seasons, denied hating her former cast mates but countered that she believed they harbored negative feelings toward her, especially after she transitioned to adult entertainment.

“No, I don’t hate you. I think that you hate me,” explained the “American MILF” star before specifically accusing Fishel of giving her the cold shoulder during filming of “Girl Meets World.”

“You unfriended me on Facebook,” Ward added.

Fishel denied unfriending her former cast mate, firing back, “I truly dont know how that happened and when you went public and said that you had sent me a message on Facebook around the time that I got married the first time in 2013, you sent it to Will and you told Will ‘I sent Danielle this message. She did not respond to me,’ I am not a Facebook person. I barely ever use Facebook.”

As tensions escalated, Fishel didn’t mince words, suggesting that Ward had come on the podcast to boost ratings rather than resolve their issues privately. According to Fishel, when she was made aware of the Facebook issue, she dug deep into her messages to find the kind note sent to her by Ward. Feeling awful, she reached out to Will Friedle to request Ward’s number so that she could apologize, to which Fishel alleges Ward told 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,’” Fishel added.

Ward went on to explain she felt there was “beef” between her and Fishel, though she did not know where the animosity stemmed from. The male co-hosts backed Fishel explaining the set of “Girl Meets Ward” tumultuous and difficult, adding that they were busy “working” andprobably didn’t have much time to be overly friendly.

Things between the women got even more heated as Ward claims that she assumed Fishel was at odds with her because she believed that she was going to “take over.”

“I was on the cover of Maxim in 2014,” Fishel shot back. “I wasn’t in any way upset.”

Fishel then slammed her former cast mate for running to TMZ, likely referencing a 2022 interview in which Ward accused Fishel of being jealous of her.

When asked by TMZ paparazzi in 2022 if she had spoken to any of her former cast mates, Ward bluntly says, “I say it in my book and it’s true, Danielle does not like.” When asked if she believed the rift had to do with her new career choice, Ward explains, “I think she’s more straight-laced about things. I think she didn’t like that I was doing sexy things and getting a lot of attention for it. I think that was a lot of competition for us.”

This confrontational stance on “Pod Meets World” clearly resonated with McGee, who continued her Instagram post with pointed commentary aimed at attention-seekers.

“Supporting people does not always mean their character will align with yours,” McGee wrote. “Sometimes, the ones you uplift only care about their own agenda. They start unnecessary drama, not for truth, but for attention — media chasers, energy usurpers.”

McGee did not stop there, adding, “They lie on you when you’re at your lowest, just for the scent of a dollar. It’s a hard lesson, but one I’ve learned well. And through it, I’ve grown. Now, I look deeper at the purpose behind my support. Healing, not chaos. Elevation, not destruction. 

“Real ones move with integrity. The rest expose themselves.”

For context, the three actresses played significant roles in “Boy Meets World.”

Fans may remember, Fishel portrayed Topanga Lawrence, the intelligent love interest who eventually married Cory Matthews. McGee joined in season 5 as Angela Moore, Shawn Hunter’s girlfriend and Topanga’s close friend. Ward’s character Rachel arrived in season 6, creating a love triangle with Eric Matthews and Jack Hunter.

It is unclear if McGee and Ward had any animosity while working on set, however, following the podcast confrontation, Ward claimed she felt “ambushed.”

“I’m just surprised by the whole situation. … It just felt uneasy to have people that you called friends … I can see that she did not like me,” she said.

Fishel appeared touched by McGee’s support, commenting under the post, “Wow, thank you Trina. We have been through a lot, both together and apart, and we’ve come out the other side so much better because of it. I love you.”

Fans quickly flooded McGee’s comments section with their own reactions, overwhelmingly supporting Fishel.

One person colorfully added, “Topanga put footprints on her neck,” while anoter declared, “Babeh… Danielle got her alllllll the way together.”

Some offered more nuanced perspectives on the situation.

“If everyone knows the path Mailand had took for her career this bitterness from her sounds more like a place of hurt.That she’s really tryin to point a finger at others for her decisions,” observed one commenter.

Another fan provided a detailed critique: “Maitland was just so immature with all those crazy uncalled for accusations. Like junior high drama on why aren’t you following me on fb. Then saying Danielle’s jealous of her and accusing the three of them of hating Ben. Definitely was all for some attention. I’m proud of all three of them esp Danielle for not letting that slide.”

McGee later doubled down on her support, sharing another post featuring herself using Fishel’s audio from the podcast with the caption, “I promise this is the last one… #trinamcgee #pettypost #wellness #love #peace #family #newbeginnings.”

The public display of solidarity suggests that while the “Boy Meets World” cast may have had their differences over the years, some bonds have only grown stronger with time.

Fans seemed to appreciate McGee’s ride or die nature and that Topanga still can rely on her good. Much to the actresses’ delight, their fans are still invested in both the show and the real-life relationships of its stars.