Trina McGee Explains Why She Wasn’t within the ‘Boy Meets World’ Finale

One other “Boy Meets World” thriller was solved throughout a current episode of the rewatch podcast, “Pod Meets World.” Trina McGee, who portrayed Angela Moore in the course of the ultimate three seasons of the sitcom, revealed why she wasn’t a part of the collection finale.

“That is some floor we now have not coated. I used to be instructed, in form of a bizarre, off-handed method by a vital individual, that you simply guys all went to [showrunner] Michael Jacobs, and also you mentioned, ‘We don’t need her within the final episode. She’s one way or the other taking our gentle.’ [That] was the gist of it,” mentioned McGee, who performed Shawn Hunter’s (Rider Sturdy) girlfriend on the present. “I used to be instructed that after I shot what was the present earlier than the final episode, which was referred to as ‘Angela’s Ashes’ after I left. When Michael introduced to me, we’re going to do one other present on Angela, I used to be so completely satisfied, not realizing this was going to be the present earlier than the final present.”

Co-hosts Sturdy, Danielle Fishel and Will Friedle had been shocked and appalled over that declare — and felt terrible that she was instructed that 22 years in the past.

“I bear in mind after we taped the present, I had mentioned to an individual, ‘Why aren’t we on the final present?’ As a result of I do know the final present was going to be the one with the rankings and the crying and all of the stuff. I used to be underneath the impression that y’all received collectively and didn’t need me within the final present, for some cause I used to be going to take some shine or one thing to that impact,” she continued. “That was actually hurtful to me for a very long time. To make it worse, folks of coloration are likely to look into issues just a little more durable typically. So I had cousins calling me, saying, ‘How come you weren’t within the final episode? They only gave you that complete present so that you simply’d be distracted and wouldn’t be within the present with the true rankings?’ A number of of my cousins, my members of the family had been telling me this. … I’ve truthfully had that in my head for 20 years.”

Friedle was not completely satisfied in regards to the declare. “Can we are saying for the file, Trina, that by no means occurred,” he mentioned. “That’s not competitiveness, that’s sociology. This pisses me off. That is subsequent degree.”

McGee kindly replied, “I imagine you. I can inform by your reactions. I’ve had that in my head for thus lengthy, and I’ve by no means watched that present. I’ve at all times felt like, ugh. … That damage me a very long time.”

Whereas Fishel and McGee remembered being pitted in opposition to one another, the boys mentioned that it wasn’t the identical for them.

“It’s true that we weren’t performed in opposition to one another, however I received’t go thus far to say we weren’t manipulated,” Sturdy mentioned. Friedle responded, “Oh no, that’s completely different. Manipulated on a regular basis. Nevertheless it wasn’t whispering in a single ear, whispering in one other ear about one thing else.”

In the course of the episode, McGee additionally seemed again at an op-ed that she wrote for the Day by day Information, by which she defended the truth that “Boy Meets World” didn’t handle that Shawn and Angela had been in an interracial relationship. She shared on the podcast that her publicist and husband truly wrote the piece, which was printed underneath her byline, however that she didn’t agree.

“I used to be very confused on the time about whether or not to speak about it or not — I had two realms of pondering: my job and mankind,” she mentioned. “It wasn’t completely my natural view. Humorous sufficient, a rebuttal was written to the Day by day Information by Lorraine Toussaint, who mentioned, no, it’s essential to acknowledge that these are two completely different races getting collectively… If I needed to do it over and I might take my actual stance, hindsight and all the things. I’d have wrote the alternative article.”

Sturdy additionally remembered speaking to McGee in regards to the matter, additionally questioning why they weren’t discussing it.

Earlier than the household sitcom, McGee had starred on a number of sitcoms with Black casts, together with “A Completely different World,” “Martin” and “Household Issues.”

“Coming from Black sitcoms, I at all times needed to have like a Black meter… My Black meter was most likely right down to a 2. I bear in mind after I was doing ‘Angela’s Ashes’ episode, one way or the other my Black meter had slipped up and I used to be at a few 9. Michael came to visit to me and his observe was, ‘Hey Trina, simply flip down the Telma Hopkins about eight notches,’” she mentioned, noting that the producer was referencing the Black “Household Issues” actor. “I knew precisely what he was speaking about and I did. … There are such a lot of stuff you guys are so fortunate you didn’t have to consider.”

Years in the past, McGee and Friedle shared an interplay that they had on set that he says utterly modified his life. They recounted the dialog on the podcast, noting that on set, McGee got here out of the dressing room in a purple headband.

“In my head, I connected no cultural significance to that in any way. I noticed an individual who I believed was my good friend however didn’t know very nicely, carrying a giant, purple hat. That’s all I noticed,” Friedle defined. “I used to be like, ‘You’re a part of the forged, so which means, I’m gonna make enjoyable of you a similar method I make enjoyable [of others].’ I believed, ‘Gonna make enjoyable of her purple hat.’ That’s so far as my dumbass, privileged thoughts noticed. So proper earlier than I walked on in my opinion, I walked by and went, ‘Love your syrup,’ and walked on to the set, pondering ‘Growth, zing! Simply received her for her hat.’”

After the scene, McGee instructed Friedle his remark referring to her as Aunt Jemima was not okay.

“I bear in mind saying to you, ‘I assumed that was such as you calling me the jolly inexperienced big.’ You had been like, ‘No, that’s not the identical factor in any respect.’” Friedle mentioned. “By no means use the time as an excuse however the mid-90s, I had no concept of the cultural significance of the Aunt Jemima character, any of that stuff… I had by no means heard that! I used to be mortified.”

After she defined the offensive remark to him, he apologized and so they hugged — however he was “actually shaking” afterward. McGee recalled feeling “very small,” to which Friedle responded, “How might you not?”

“It actually modified my life,” he continued. “That second was the second the place I used to be like, you possibly can’t simply say stuff. You possibly can’t throw stuff on the market, since you assume it’s humorous and stroll away. You would be hurting folks.”