The “Boy Meets World” Solid Addressed Trina McGee’s Racism Accusations
In January 2020, Trina McGee posted a collection of scathing tweets that detailed the racism and prejudice that she skilled throughout her time on Boy Meets World.
Trina joined the ABC sitcom as Angela Moore in 1997, which was throughout the present’s fifth season. She remained on the present till its ultimate season in 2000, with Angela turning into Shawn Hunter’s on-and-off girlfriend.
In 2015, Trina reprised her function of Angela in Boy Meets World’s sequel collection, Lady Meets World, however was reported to have been disappointed at not having a bigger function within the reboot on the time.
5 years later, Trina took to social media to name out three of her former castmates for being racist and disrespectful in direction of her, with Trina one of many solely non-white actors to star within the present all through its seven-season run.
“Referred to as aunt Jemima on set throughout hair and make up. Referred to as a bitter bitch after I quietly waited for my scene to complete rehearsing that was being f’ed up again and again attributable to episode that includes my character. Instructed ‘it was good of you to hitch us’ like a stranger after 60 episodes,” her first tweet learn.
Referred to as aunt Jemima on set throughout hair and make up. Referred to as a bitter bitch after I quietly waited for my scene to complete rehearsing that was being f’ed up again and again attributable to episode that includes my character. Instructed “ it was good of you to hitch us” like a stranger after 60 episodes
Twitter: @realtrinamcgee
Trina then confirmed that she was speaking about Boy Meets World and that the habits got here from the principle actors “on the poster.”
She additionally stated that she confronted considered one of her castmates for the microaggressions on the time, however her discomfort was dismissed. “One reply was that calling me Aunt Jemima was the identical as calling me The Jolly Inexperienced Big. Only a fictional meals character,” Trina tweeted. “I may care much less what individuals name me till the vibe begins to dam cash. That is the distinction between prejudice and racism.”
@iAnisaMaxamud @papageezy @fangirlcrys One reply was that calling me Aunt Jemima was the identical as calling me The Jolly Inexperienced Big. Only a fictional meals character. I may care much less what individuals name me till the vibe begins to dam cash. That is the distinction between prejudice and racism.
Twitter: @realtrinamcgee
“I did my job and I count on my due,” she added in a reply to a follower. “At instances the stress of the disrespect was extraordinarily annoying. 25 yrs outdated on the time elevating a household and didn’t should be fascinated with this. None of these three colleagues had kids. Simply cowardly egos and scorching diarrhea mouths.”
@Chris_Jones333 I did my job and I count on my due. At instances the stress of the disrespect was extraordinarily annoying. 25 yrs outdated on the time elevating a household and didn’t should be fascinated with this. None of these three colleagues had kids. Simply cowardly egos and scorching diarrhea mouths.
Twitter: @realtrinamcgee
Trina additionally stated that the solid left her out of discussions in regards to the present “due to concern and jealousy.” She then clarified: “Crew was all the time nice. Speaking about three performing colleagues.”
@HarlighQuinn I’m disregarded due to concern and jealousy. Crew was all the time nice. Speaking about three performing colleagues.
Twitter: @realtrinamcgee
However the star rapidly shut down hypothesis that Rider Sturdy — who performed her onscreen boyfriend, Shawn — was concerned, confirming that he wasn’t one of many three those that she was referring to.
Twitter: @realtrinamcgee
In actual fact, she later revealed that Rider had reached out to examine in on her following the tweets, with the actor writing in a DM: “I see you give no fucks now. Do you wish to discuss?”
Regardless of being eager to clear Rider’s identify, Trina refused to disclose who the culprits have been as she instructed her followers: “They need to identify themselves. When a colleague says ‘I don’t need anybody in my scene that’s feminine or round me.’ Be daring sufficient to come clean with why you’re doing this. You don’t should be [inspector] gadget to determine it out. I plan on having fun with the squirm of cowards.”
@iAnisaMaxamud @papageezy @fangirlcrys They need to identify themselves. When a colleague says “I don’t need anybody in my scene that’s feminine or round me. “ be daring sufficient to come clean with why you’re doing this. You don’t should be inspected gadget to determine it out. I plan on having fun with the squirm of cowards.
Twitter: @realtrinamcgee
It turned broadly assumed that the three castmates in query have been Will Friedle, who performed Eric Matthews, Danielle Fishel, who performed Topanga Lawrence, and Ben Savage, who performed the present’s lead character, Cory Matthews.
Danielle later confirmed that she was one of many actors that Trina was speaking about, with explicit reference to her former costar’s tweet that learn: “Mentioned joyful hellos to be greeted with clean chilly stares. Dissed for believing in God in entrance of extras. Fuckery was actual. All fact. stayed good. Not mad. Simply feeling free to touch upon 20 plus years of disrespectful habits.”
Mentioned joyful hellos to be greeted with clean chilly stares. Dissed for believing in God in entrance of extras. Fuckery was actual. All fact. stayed good. Not mad. Simply feeling free to touch upon 20 plus years of disrespectful habits.#Trinamcgee #realtalk #shameonyou #imdonebeingnice
Twitter: @realtrinamcgee
In June 2020, Danielle wrote on her social media web page: “I owed @realtrinamcgee an apology for being impolite, chilly, & distant when she guest-starred on GMW (her tweet relating to heat hellos being met with chilly clean stares was about me). Trina and I spoke over a month in the past and she or he gracefully accepted my apology.”
@OOH_KottonTail I owed @realtrinamcgee an apology for being impolite, chilly, & distant when she visitor starred on GMW (her tweet relating to heat hellos being met with chilly clean stares was about me). Trina and I spoke over a month in the past and she or he gracefully accepted my apology. ❤️
Twitter: @daniellefishel
Trina then instructed Yahoo Entertainment that Danielle had defined that she had been distant as a result of she was “going by loads on the time, on a private degree” and confirmed that she had forgiven her.
It was additionally revealed that Will had been the one who known as Trina “Aunt Jemima,” and she or he stated that she had forgiven him after he first apologized 22 years earlier and once more in a three-page letter following her tweets.
She stated that he’d discovered from his inappropriate feedback and had since modified his habits in addition to his “notion of comedy.” Trina added that she had apologized to him for making his remarks public as a result of she knew they didn’t stem from “viciousness.”
Throughout the identical time interval, Trina stated that she hadn’t heard from Ben, reiterating: “I don’t discuss to Ben Savage in any respect.”
In June 2022, Danielle, Will, and Rider launched a podcast to debate their time on the present. Within the aptly named Pod Meets World, the hosts are rewatching the collection from the start, and after every episode they share their reminiscences from filming.
Most weeks additionally function a particular visitor, together with their former costars, background actors, and crew members from the present, and the trio had beforehand talked about that Trina goes to be a visitor within the coming weeks.
Whereas the time for her look hasn’t but arrived, Will and Danielle addressed Trina’s expertise on the present throughout this week’s evaluation of Season 1, Episode 8: “Instructor’s Wager.”
Will was 17 on the time of filming, Rider was 14, and Danielle 12.
Though Trina wouldn’t make her debut for one more 4 seasons, she was talked about within the podcast as a result of the episode handled racism after Eric’s Japanese girlfriend, Linda, was racially abused in a shopping center.
Danielle, Rider, and Will revealed that the unique script included a slur that was stated in opposition to Linda, however it was lower after Ben mispronounced the phrase throughout a desk learn.
Will recalled: “The unique line, nearly verbatim, was one thing like: ‘Till my brother got here residence along with his new girlfriend, who was crying as a result of some jerk known as her a G-word on the mall.’ That was the road, and Ben mispronounced the phrase on the desk learn and so they took it out.”
Rider added: “I keep in mind the writers being very joyful, the adults [were] like: ‘That’s cool that Ben doesn’t know this phrase,’ and I didn’t both.”
“I keep in mind so clearly the adults saying it’s really nice that he doesn’t know methods to say this phrase, and that he doesn’t understand it,” Danielle agreed.
They then referenced a later second within the episode the place Cory calls Shawn an anti-Italian slur in a bid to spark a response to the unfairness.
“I believe one of many strains that I liked greater than anything within the episode was when Cory says: ‘Once I stated that time period that I shouldn’t have stated, the issue is that just one individual jumped up,’” Danielle stated. “As a result of everybody ought to have jumped up, that’s actually the lesson that we have been making an attempt to show in Boy Meets World in 1993.”
“Consider how a lot — within the final a number of years particularly — that the dialogue has been it isn’t sufficient to simply not be racist your self, you really should go above and past that, it’s important to be aggressively anti-racist,” Danielle went on. “And when you see it taking place to someone else, it doesn’t imply that it’s not affecting you. That must be an issue to you. Right here, that was precisely the lesson within the classroom — I simply stated one thing and the one one that jumped up is the individual I stated it to.”
Will then stated that they couldn’t have this dialog with out mentioning Trina. “We handled this loads within the ’90s, we’re youthful and — at instances — you don’t understand you could be part of the issue, and that’s one of many issues that Trina introduced up and has talked about,” he stated.
“We have now all mentioned [it] along with her, and I can’t wait to truly have a deeper dialog along with her about it,” Will went on. “I had stated silly, insensitive issues on the time considering that I wasn’t doing something flawed, and that was type of par for the course on the time.”
“You didn’t know, you thought you have been having a complete dialog with a great pal, or thought you have been making a joke, or thought you have been doing one thing that had no racial undertones by any means till then someone sits you down and goes: ‘We’ve received to speak about this,’ which we did, and we’re going to once more as a result of I do know she’s approaching quickly. However we couldn’t have this dialog with out mentioning that I believe, as a result of it was vital,” he concluded.
Danielle then identified: “It’s a good time to say that this was a really white solid, a really giant white solid.” Rider added: “And white writing employees.”
“It was not a racially various set in any method, form, or type, and all that stuff issues,” Will agreed, earlier than declaring the inherent hypocrisy of Boy Meets World. “There’s an attention-grabbing type of steadiness between addressing sure issues on the present that weren’t really being addressed on the present.”
“Addressing them societally with out really our surroundings,” Danielle echoed.
Rider then revealed that the present initially wished Cory to have a second greatest pal who was an individual of coloration, with the trio recurrently referencing “the dying chair” within the first season of the present.
The chair received its identify as a result of in every episode there could be one other younger actor sitting with Cory and Shawn as he was examined out for a recurring function, however they by no means lasted a couple of week.
“We’ve talked in regards to the dying chair and we’ve talked about it as type of a joke, however the fact was additionally they have been making an attempt to diversify the present,” Rider defined. “The principle motive the dying chair existed was as a result of we wished to have a non-white greatest pal for Cory. We went by a number of Black younger actors and clearly it didn’t occur, which isn’t nice. It will have been good to have somewhat extra range in that solid.”
Will then reiterated that this didn’t occur till Trina, 4 years later.
The group rounded off this week’s podcast by telling listeners that they are going to be speaking “in depth” with Trina about her time on the present “in a number of weeks,” which is certain to be a dialog that no person will wish to miss.
