Rider Strong says Trina McGee publicly voicing 'Boy Meets World' racism 'brought us closer together'
Shawn Hunter and Angela Moore's relationship ended simultaneously with Boy Meets World, but Rider Strong and Trina McGee are "closer than ever," according to Strong's new interview with People.
Strong played Shawn (duh) for the duration of Boy Meets World 's beloved seven-season run from 1993 to 2000, and McGee played Angela (obviously) from Season 5 through Season 7. Shawn and Angela's love was beautiful and (unpopular opinion) better than Cory (Ben Savage) and Topanga's (Danielle Fishel), but fan discourse over why they didn't last was superseded in January 2020 by McGee calling out racism she endured while filming the series:
Strong told People that he reunited last month with McGee, Fishel and Will Friedle, and the public ordeal "brought us closer together."
"I think that storyline really resonated with a lot of people—having an interracial relationship at a time when that just wasn't on television, I believe. I'm glad we did that," the 41-year-old added. "Now that I'm doing these conventions and meeting the fans, it just seems like that really meant a lot to people. And we knew it at the time, but now, as we're older, we appreciate it. And also just the fact that it brought Trina into my life. It changed me."
McGee previously discussed what her tweets alluded to in a July 2020 interview with Yahoo, where she also revealed it was Friedle who had called her 'Aunt Jemima' during hair and makeup on set.
"I don't think [Friedle] understood how I had to deal with it," she said. "I didn’t have a hairdresser. All those little micro braids you see, I stayed up all night doing them right before I went on national television for myself."
McGee also explained that while Friedle's initial apology at the time of the racially insensitive comment didn't feel "completely sincere," he "wrote a long email" after her tweets. (Fishel additionally apologized.)
"He said that it was a journey for him since that day that he had called me Aunt Jemima," the 51-year-old actress and writer continued. "And it was a journey of thinking about himself, thinking about what he’s been taught as acceptable to other cultures ... what might hurt people."
Angela and Shawn's Boy Meets World storyline was not exactly left in a satisfying place, as Angela went to go live with her father in Europe and told Shawn that they shouldn't say goodbye but instead just tell each other "I love you," but it was finally wrapped up for good during a June 2015 episode of spinoff series Girl Meets World:
Strong, meanwhile, is "pretty much done with acting" and made his music video directorial debut earlier this week.
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