Boy Meets World Stars Say Child Abusing Costar Manipulated Them Into Supporting Him in Court.

In an unexpectedly revealing episode of the Pod Meets World podcast, Boy Meets World alums Will Friedle, Rider Strong, and Danielle Fishel veered away from their usual nostalgic recaps of episodes from the comedy series to tackle the much more serious subject of grooming and childhood sexual abuse. The reason for this pivot came about due to the trio being asked to make a statement about actor and dialogue coach Brian Peck, who appeared as a guest in two episodes of the ABC sitcom’s fifth season, and was convicted of committing a lewd act against a child back in 2004.

Peck’s involvement in the industry and subsequent legal troubles cast a shadow over the otherwise warm memories associated with the show for its stars, and he features in the upcoming four-part docuseries Quiet on Set: The Dark Side of Kid’s TV. It was through being asked to make a statement for this series that the three cast members decided to address the subject openly with therapist Kati Morton on the new episode of their podcast which aired on February 19.

Recalling how he became a friend of Peck’s soon after he joined the series, Friedle said:

“I didn’t really go to parties. I didn’t really do that stuff. But I was working a lot after Boy Meets World, and this guy had so ingratiated himself into my life, I took him to three shows after Boy Meets World. This was the type of thing where the person he presented was this great, funny guy who was really good at his job, and you wanted to hang out with … I saw him every day, hung out with him every day, talked to him every day.”

He went on to add that several cast members would spend time between takes and on breaks with Peck, who is gay, and noted that the fact Peck was hanging around with others much younger than he was on a frequent basis was not addressed. Freidle continued:

“‘Why are you guys going to lunch with this guy’? ‘Why is this guy going to Rider’s house for a party?’ There was probably a part of them that didn’t say it because they were afraid it was going to be taken as homophobia, instead of, ‘This is a boundary, gay or not. This is a boundary about adults and kids.’”

Boy Meets World Stars Were Manipulated by Brian Peck

When Peck was originally arrested in 2003, none of the three cast members had believed what was being said about him. Friedle admitted to thinking at the time that, “It’s gotta be the other person’s fault.” However, as Rider recalled, Peck openly admitted to having done the crime, but maintained that he was the victim, and even had Strong and Friedle write letters of support to the judge. Rider said:

“He didn’t say that nothing had happened. So by the time we heard about this case and knew anything about it, it was always in the context of, ‘I did this thing, I am guilty. I am going to take whatever punishment the government determines, but I’m a victim of jailbait. There was this hot guy! I just did this thing and he’s underage.’ And we bought that storyline. I never heard about the other things because, back then, you couldn’t Google to find out what people were being charged with. So in retrospect, he was making a plea deal and admitting one thing, which is all he admitted to us, but it looks like he was being charged with a series of crimes, which we did not know.”

Friedle added:

“We’re sitting in that courtroom on the wrong side of everything … The victim’s mother turned and said, ‘Look at all the famous people you brought with you. And it doesn’t change what you did to my kid.’ I just sat there wanting to die. It was like, ‘What the hell am I doing here?’ It was horrifying all the way around. We weren’t told the whole story, but it doesn’t change the fact that we did it. I still can’t get the words out to describe all of the things that I’m feeling inside of myself.”

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The experience is one that clearly left a mark on Friedle and Strong, and the ramifications continue even now, 20 years later. Freidle shared his feelings about how Peck’s manipulation led to them siding with him, and turning them against the real victim. It is this aspect that has had the most devastating impact on Friedle, who explained:

“There’s an actual victim here. And he turned us against the victim to where now we’re on his team. That’s the thing where, to me, I look back at that as my ever-loving shame for this entire [thing],” he said. “Getting taken in by somebody who’s a good actor and a manipulator, I could chalk that up to being young and that’s the way it is. It’s awful. I’m going to use that for my growth as a human being, but when there’s an actual victim involved and now I’m on the abuser’s side, that’s the thing I can’t get over and haven’t been able to get over.”