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‘Boy Meets World’ stars Will Friedle and Rider Strong detail alleged grooming by guest star Brian Peck
Character actor Brian Peck served 16 months in jail after being charged with sexual abuse in 2004.
nypost.com
‘Boy Meets World’ stars Will Friedle and Rider Strong detail alleged grooming by guest star Brian Peck
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Social Links for Samantha Ibrahim
Published Feb. 20, 2024, 9:03 a.m. ET
“Boy Meets World” stars Will Friedle and Rider Strong recalled a painful experience they allegedly endured with guest star Brian Peck.
During the “Pod Meets World” Feb. 19 podcast, Friedle, Strong and Danielle Fishel were joined by family therapist Kati Morton. Per the episode’s official description, the group discussed “the difficult subjects of grooming, childhood sexual abuse and their effects on victims.”
Peck, 63, made an appearance in Season 5 of the hit ABC family sitcom in 1997.
On the episode, Strong, 44, and Friedle, 47, alleged that Peck was a groomer and a manipulator.
3 Peck served 16 months in prison after being charged with sexual abuse in 2004. Getty Images
In 2004, Peck was charged with eight counts of sexual abuse and spent 16 months in prison for crimes against an anonymous Nickelodeon child star.
Friedle noted that he befriended Peck and said it “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.”
Fishel — who revealed she wasn’t close with Peck — believed that his open homosexuality was probably a reason why his bad behavior went unnoticed in the late ’90s as the decade had “rampant” homophobia.
“The other adults on set who maybe could have or should have said, ‘Why are you guys going to lunch with this guy?’ ‘Why is this guy going to Rider’s house for a party?’ ” she said.
The “Girl Meets World” star, 42, went on: “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.’ ”
3 “Boy Meets World” aired from 1993 until 2000 over the course of seven seasons. ©ABC/Courtesy Everett Collection
Fishel said that none of the young cast members cared about Peck’s sexuality, but he appeared to take an interest in male stars.
“And so, I also think that’s important in the story of Rider and Will, about why he befriended the two of you so closely.”
She added: “And I did have lunch with him a couple of times, but only because someone else would invite me … He didn’t really make an effort to get to know me. He didn’t ingratiate himself as much into my life. I never heard from him again after the show ended.”
When Peck was first arrested in 2003, Friedle and Strong were shocked by the accusations.
Friedle even went to court to support Peck at the time, saying that he and other child actors that Peck knew were “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,” he added.
3 Strong and Friedle opened up about their experiences with Peck on a recent episode of their podcast. Getty Images for iHeartRadio
Strong last saw Peck at a party seven years ago, stating that the run-in was an “an out-of-body experience.”
The “Pepper Dennis” alum continued: “The story that he was telling me was nonsense, but what he was letting me know was that he was with famous people who validate him and put him in a category of Hollywood royalty. He did that constantly when we were on the set of ‘Boy Meets World,’ and I never saw it because it was so effortless.”
Friedle then interjected, saying that now looking back on the situation, it has affected the “person I’ve become.”
However, he noted, it “doesn’t affect my memory of the show in any way, shape or form.”
“Boy Meets Wold” ran for seven seasons and aired from 1993 until 2000. Ben Savage, William Russ, William Daniels, Betsy Randle, Matthew Lawrence and Trina McGee also starred.
The Post has reached out to a rep for Peck for comment.