NEED TO KNOW
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Both Danielle Fishel and Will Friedle gained some weight between seasons 6 and 7 of the show. «Boy Meets World.
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The show's creator, Michael Jacobs, called the two into a meeting and told them there would be an episode that would deal with weight gain and make fun of the issue, as they claim in in the series "Doctor Meets World".
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In a new documentary, Fischel and Friedl recall their feelings and what they wished they had done at that moment.
Danielle Fishel and Will Friedle didn't know how to react when they learned that one of the episodes of the series «Boy Meets World» will be dedicated to their weight.
In his new documentary «Doc Meets World» , which premiered at the Tribeca Film Festival on Saturday, June 6, two actors opened up about the awkward moment and the process that led up to it.
In the documentary, 49-year-old Friedl explained that he began experiencing anxiety attacks during filming. He was prescribed medication during the process.
«"Between seasons 6 and 7, I started having anxiety attacks, and I had to take medication to perform well. And a lot of the medications made me gain weight," shared Friedl, who was in his early 20s at the time.
«"So by the time I came back to start Season 7, I probably weighed 25 or 30 pounds more than when I left," he added.
Around the same time, he noted that Fishel had also become about "six or seven pounds heavier.".
«"And all the articles were talking about how much Danielle had grown," he said of his then-18-year-old co-star.
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When it came to the episode where the situation was discussed directly, Fishel recalled being invited to a meeting with series creator Michael Jacobs.
«"I remember Michael reacting to it completely calmly. 'Oh, hello. Hello. Well, obviously you've both gained a lot of weight.'".
Agreeing with this, Friedle added of the alleged conversation: "'We've noticed weight gain, and we're writing an episode about it.' And so the whole episode is about everyone thinking Topanga is pregnant, and they're making me eat entire slices of pizza in one bite.".
After meeting Jacobs, Fishel recalls, "We both left thinking, 'There's going to be an episode about this.' We hugged and parted ways. And I think I got in the car and cried for about an hour before leaving.".
Danielle Fishel as Topanga in the Boy Meets World episode "She Eats My Ribs." Photo: ABC Photo Archives/Disney General Entertainment. Content via Getty
Friedl noted that they didn't discuss it again until they started podcasting. Twenty-five years later, he believes it would have been "much easier" for both of them to discuss it.
«It’s much easier… because at that meeting our souls left our bodies,» Fishel agreed.
The result was the season 7 episode "She's Having My Baby, Ribs," in which Eric and Topanga secretly (and dangerously) diet and accidentally convince everyone that Topanga is pregnant. This leads to an awkward baby shower, where she eventually reveals the truth. While everyone ultimately responded to the situation with greater sympathy and understanding, the episode itself left the cast feeling less than warm.
Jacobs did not respond to PEOPLE's request for comment.
In an interview with PEOPLE about the documentary, Friedl, Fishel, and their co-star Rider Strong made it clear that the series, which ran from 1993 to 2000, had more good moments than bad. That's why they wanted to be candid—both in their podcast and in the documentary—about all sides of the story.
«"Our relationships with everyone on the show, as well as most of our memories and impressions, are wonderful and wonderful. But no one gets through seven years of their life without some negative experiences related to others," Fishel shared.
Will Friedle in 1998. Photo: ABC Photo Archives/Disney General Entertainment Content via Getty.
Strong agreed, noting, «I think we all have nothing but positive memories of Boy Meets World« . So we acknowledge some things that weren't so good, and some things we would do differently now that we, like Daniel and I, are able to direct young actors, and we recognize how we were treated, how it affected us, and how our set was organized.".
Friedl added: "...looking back, you realize everyone has flaws. Your parents have flaws. Nobody's perfect. We're not perfect either. But we try to look back as objectively as possible.".
«"And as they both said, the balance between the wonderful moments we experienced on set Boy Meets World« , "There were some really bad times, and it was just enormous, but we weren't going to avoid the bad times, because at the same time, we were kids," he added. "We were kids growing up. We might have had a different life than a lot of other kids, but at the end of the day, we were just kids.".
Film premiere «Doc Meets World» took place at the Tribeca Film Festival on Saturday, June 6.
Read the original article on People.