A costumer from Boy Meets World has spoken about concerns surrounding Danielle Fishel’s outfits during the series’ original run, saying her wardrobe sparked debate behind the scenes.
Fishel, 44, became widely known for playing Topanga Lawrence on the long-running sitcom. She has also recently shared that she is now cancer-free after previously opening up about her health battle.
After the show aired for seven seasons from 1993 to 2000, Fishel later returned to the role for the Disney+ continuation, Girl Meets World, which premiered in 2014.
Julie Yang Silver, who worked as a costumer on the 1990s series, appeared on the Pod Meets World podcast on Monday (March 2) and said there were “heated discussions” about Fishel’s wardrobe.
Yang Silver spoke with Will Friedle and Rider Strong during the episode, while Fishel—normally a regular host—was not present for Monday’s installment.
“I related to her because she was a female and just a young teenager growing up,” the costumer began.
Friedle, who portrayed Eric Matthews, then added: “I put on a bunch of weight towards the end [of the show]. Danielle put on a little bit of weight towards the end, but of course it was all about how she put on ‘so much’ weight.”
He also recalled that while Fishel was able to choose Topanga’s wedding dress for the final season, she couldn’t select a style that was sleeveless.
Friedel explained: “She thinks that one of the reasons was because certain powers-that-be thought that she looked too heavy to show her arms bare.”
Yang Silver agreed, and went on to describe why those conversations were happening, adding that she was among the people advocating for Fishel behind the camera.
The costumer said: “The thing was, Danielle was not heavy. That’s what I was trying to explain to them. I was like, ‘she’s still a size 2, I don’t know what you guys are talking about.’
“Danielle wasn’t very tall, so if you are bustier and you’re not very tall, you’re going to look larger. But she wasn’t. You guys saw her every single day. She was not large at all.”
In the end, Topanga’s dress was paired with a shawl, with Yang Silver saying the team had hoped no weight-related remarks would reach Fishel.
Still, she suggested Fishel likely picked up on what was going on.
“But we really tried to hide that from her… Because she’s a teenager,” she continued.
“That’s going to get in her head. That’s what Karen and I were both saying: She is a young woman, and that can do so much psychological damage, and it’s so not worth it. We were treading very, very lightly.”