Many of Boy Meets World’s cast members have been open about their time working on the show, but one could argue that Maitland Ward has been the most vocal. The actress-turned-porn star has discussed a number of topics relating to her time on the TGIF sitcom, including an alleged tiff with co-star Danielle Fishel. Now, Ward is dropping some more gripes and, this time, she’s specifically calling out the company that produced the series – Disney. She’s taking issue with how the studio handled its young actresses back in the day and claims that the stars were required “to be sexual.”
The actress, who played the role of Rachel McGuire during the final two seasons, has mostly leveled her complaints at series creator Michael Jacobs and his immediate braintrust over the years. However, she firmly shifted that focus to the “Disney machine” while talking to Fox News. When discussing her alleged experiences within that environment, the 46-year-old did not mince words:
You had to be virginal, but you also had to be sexual. The issues mainly came from Disney, and that it wasn't so much with the cast members. It was more the whole Disney machine back then, especially back in the late '90s and early 2000s when the girls were treated like meat.
Maitland Ward previously opened up about being “sexualized” on the show and not truly realizing it at the time. The star also remembered being asked to try on lingerie for the Boy Meets World producers and, apparently, that happened multiple times. She recalled the group – which was mostly made up of men – “making small talk and laughing as an audience would before a show.” Ward attributes these encounters to Rachel being the character to most frequently remove her clothes on BMW. One would think that Ward would connect the lingerie fittings with the alleged workplace culture she recently described.
The Bold and the Beautiful alum – who’s amassed a lot of notoriety and cash from OnlyFans these days – has occasionally given the impression that she felt ostracized from the franchise. She’s partially attributed this to her porn career but also noted that she was left out of the spinoff sequel series, Girl Meets World, before her adult film career began. She did visit the set of the Disney Channel series, however, which is where she says Danielle Fishel treated her coldly. That alleged drama aside though, she still has mostly positive feelings when she thinks about her BMW co-stars:
Even though there were issues with Disney and production and my character and relationships, I do remember it as an innocent time, though, with a cast that was very much family. And I mean that in all possible ways because it's like with family. You fight with family, you have issues, but you still were connected. And I think a producer from the show told me no matter what, after all this time, we're always going to be connected in this. You can't change that. And I think that's special and good.
There’s certainly a fair share of good and not-so-good that can come with being a young actress starring in a high-profile production. In one respect, it would seem that Maitland Ward seems to appreciate certain aspects of her work. However, it doesn’t sound like she’s willing to forgive the House of Mouse for any purported practices of the past any time soon.
You can see Maitland Ward’s work on Boy Meets World by streaming all seven seasons using a Disney+ subscription.
