SKY YORK JOURNAL News – Trina McGee and Will Friedle reconciled after racially insensitive remark on Boy Meets World set.
Will Friedle’s Racially Insensitive Remark to Trina McGee
In January 2020, Trina McGee, known for her role as Angela on Boy Meets World, publicly addressed the disrespect she experienced during her time on the show. According to McGee, this included being “called Aunt Jemima on set.”
McGee later identified Will Friedle as the individual who made the remark. According to SKY YORK JOURNAL sources, Friedle apologized for the incident, initially 22 years prior, and subsequently in a detailed three-page letter.
“We talked more on it and he acknowledged that he really wasn’t educated enough in his early twenties to know he was truly offending me,” she wrote on Instagram in April 2020. “THIS SHOULD AND COULD BE A TEACHING MOMENT FOR ALL.”
Reconciliation and Forgiveness
Ultimately, McGee and Friedle were able to move past the incident. According to reports obtained by SKY YORK JOURNAL, they each apologized.
“Will apologized to me and I forgave him, I then apologized to him for making the statements public because his joke came out of just not knowing, not viciousness and he forgave me,” she said. “That’s what friends do.”
Friedle’s Perspective
As Friedle recounted on Pod Meets World in 2022, he recalled seeing McGee exit her dressing room wearing a “big red headscarf” and admitted he “attached no cultural significance to that whatsoever.”
Friedle explained that, intending to tease her as he did other cast members, made a joke about her hat.
“That’s as far as my dumbass privileged mind saw it,” Friedle said. “So right before I walked on for my part, I walked by and went ‘love your syrup’ and walked onto the set thinking boom, zing, just got her for her hat.”
A Learning Experience
McGee immediately informed Friedle that his joke was inappropriate, leading him to feel “mortified.” He stated that the incident was a life-changing moment.
“You can’t just throw things out there because you think it’s funny and walk away,” he said. “You could be hurting people.”
