Current:Home > NewsBoy Meets World's Original Topanga Actress Alleges She Was Fired for Not Being "Pretty Enough" -Momentum Wealth Path
Boy Meets World's Original Topanga Actress Alleges She Was Fired for Not Being "Pretty Enough"
View
Date:2025-04-13 20:12:34
Before there was Danielle Fishel, there was Bonnie Morgan.
The Rings actress recently opened up for the first time about being cast and subsequently fired from Boy Meets World after one day of production, which her alleging her quick tenure on the sitcom came down to a decision from director David Trainer.
On a June 26 episode of the podcast Pod Meets World, co-hosted by Fishel and fellow Boy Meets World alumni Rider Strong and Will Friedle, Morgan explained the reason she was given for her firing, saying, "The director said I couldn't take direction, which is one thing I had never been accused of."
However, she says she soon learned that wasn't the case.
It came out very quickly to my agent that the director didn't think I was pretty enough," the contortionist and stunt performer continued. "Literally, did not think I was pretty enough. So that meant that a grown up, a man, a boss, could lie about me and tell me I was untalented because the fact was, he didn't think I was pretty."
E! News has reached out to Disney–ABC Domestic Television and Trainer for comment and has not heard back.
And Morgan—who was 12 years old when she was cast in Boy Meets World—recalled having the "weirdest day" of her life ahead of her firing, with her noting that Trainer was becoming frustrated with her acting.
"I was becoming a nervous wreck," she said. "David was just like, 'Get it together!'"
Still, Morgan remained optimistic about her job following the tough day. "I woke up the next morning to celebrate," she recalled. "I made myself blueberry pancakes, because I was so grown up, with a job now—and brought them up to my parents' bedroom to sit and eat them when the phone rang. My dad picked up the phone and he didn't wait to get off the phone. He just said, 'What? You're kidding. They fired you. You're fired.'"
Morgan continued, "I left my pancakes, ran into my room, took a blue blueberry-smelling marker and wrote, 'The worst day of my life' on my hummingbird calendar."
And the experience left her largely unable to watch Boy Meets World, with her admitting she's only seen one episode. "I saw the Barbie Mattel girl, a literal doll, as Topanga and it was like, 'Oh,'" she said. "It was the only time I would ever watch the show because I was not about torturing myself."
While Trainer has yet to comment on Morgan's claims, he previously spoke about feeling like she wasn't working in the role.
"There's sort of problems that you think you can solve," he said on Pod Meets World last year. "And then there's problems that you think you can't solve. And certainly, by working with her, she moved from one camp to the other. To the insoluble camp."
He added that he told colleagues at the time that she was a "disaster" in the role and they needed "to get rid of her."
Fishel, who ultimately went on to play Topanga in the sitcom and its sequel series Girl Meets World, has also reflected on her experience seeing Morgan on set having been cast in a minor role in the episode.
"She seemed to have trouble there. He'd give her a note telling her to change something, and she'd do it the exact same way again," she wrote in her 2014 memoir Normally This Would Be Cause for Concern. "On set the next day, she wasn't there. They had let her go, and the executive producer, Michael Jacobs, needed to find a new girl to play Topanga."
Ultimately, Morgan harbors no hard feelings toward Fishel over the role. "Yes, of course, for a long time, it was like, 'You took it from me,'" she told her on Pod Meets World. "But you were not in the corner, conniving and conspiring."
After Fishel responded in agreement, Morgan added, "The seat was open and you were ushered into it."
For the latest breaking news updates, click here to download the E! News AppveryGood! (1)
Related
- Most popular books of the week: See what topped USA TODAY's bestselling books list
- Mondo Duplantis sets pole vault world record on final attempt - after already winning gold
- The Stanley x LoveShackFancy Collection is Here: Elevate Your Sip Before These Tumblers Sell Out
- US wrestler Amit Elor has become 'young GOAT' of her sport, through tragedy and loss
- Why Sean "Diddy" Combs Is Being Given a Laptop in Jail Amid Witness Intimidation Fears
- Victoria Canal Addresses Tom Cruise Dating Rumors
- Stock market recap: Wall Street hammered amid plunging global markets
- Wayfair’s 60% off Bedding & Bath Sale Has Everything You Need for Your Dorm, Starting at $9
- A Mississippi company is sentenced for mislabeling cheap seafood as premium local fish
- USA men's volleyball stays unbeaten with quarterfinal win over Brazil
Ranking
- Juan Soto to be introduced by Mets at Citi Field after striking record $765 million, 15
- Why do athletes ring the bell at Stade de France at 2024 Paris Olympics? What to know
- Google illegally maintains monopoly over internet search, judge rules
- 'Don't panic': What to do when the stock market sinks like a stone
- Have Dry, Sensitive Skin? You Need To Add These Gentle Skincare Products to Your Routine
- South Carolina school apologizes for employees' Border Patrol shirts at 'cantina' event
- Caroline Marks wins gold for US in surfing final nail-biter
- Sam Kendricks wins silver in pole vault despite bloody, punctured hand
Recommendation
Could your smelly farts help science?
USA vs. Germany live updates: USWNT lineup, start time for Olympics semifinal
Billions Actor Akili McDowell Arrested and Charged With Murder
Nvidia, Apple and Amazon took a hit Monday, here's a look at how some major stocks fared
North Carolina trustees approve Bill Belichick’s deal ahead of introductory news conference
Astrology's 'Big Three': What your sun, moon and rising sign say about you
Teresa Giudice Explains Her Shocking Reaction to Jackie Goldschneider Bombshell During RHONJ Finale
Paris Olympics highlights Monday: Noah Lyles, Gabby Thomas advance in 200 meters