Danielle Fishel Says Her Weight Gain Was Turned Into A Joke On 'Boy Meets World'

Danielle Fishel says there was a point during her time on “Boy Meets World” when she felt forced to make fun of her own appearance.

The actor, who played Topanga Lawrence on the ’90s ABC sitcom, said the show’s producers and writers called her into an office to “tell” her they were going to write an episode about her real-life weight gain.

“It wasn’t really like they asked,” Fishel said during an episode of her podcast, “Pod Meets World, ” released Monday.

Fishel explained that at the time, her co-star Will Friedle, who played Eric Matthews on the TGIF staple, had also visibly gained weight. So, she says, the show decided to exploit his body for laughs as well.

“Will had gained some weight,” Fishel said. “I had gained some weight. [And the writers said], ‘Obviously, you guys have gained a little bit of weight, so we’re gonna write an episode about it. And we just wanted you to know. And here’s what it’s gonna be. It’s gonna be really funny.’”

Fishel said the “hardest part” of the meeting was that Friedle seemed game to humiliate himself. (Friedle is a co-host of “Pod Meets World,” but did not appear on Monday’s episode.)

“Will very much was like, ‘Oh, yeah. I’m totally fine with it.’ Just immediately. Which, I know now, he was very insecure, and it was really painful for him,” Fishel said. “And for me, it was more like, ‘Oh, wow.’ Like, I didn’t — no one had said anything to me about it. I had been aware that I had gained weight, but I was still, you know, I was a size 4.”

“I remember thinking, ‘Wow, these people think I’ve gained enough weight [that] we have to write an entire episode about my weight gain,’” she said. “And I have to say I’m fine with it, because they didn’t even present to me another alternative.