Boy Meets World cast members Will Friedle and Rider Strong recalled their time on the set of the popular 1993 sitcom and how they formed a relationship with guest star Brian Peck.
In their podcast, they shared how the actor easily befriended them despite being in his late 30s. As it turns out, Peck has already a tarnished reputation among his peers in the industry.
Trigger Warnings: S*xual Assault, Grooming, Child Abuse
Boy Meets World Actor Will Friedle On His Relationship With Brian Peck
Will Friedle shared on Pod Meets World how actor Brian Peck tried to gain his trust by being friendly on the set in alleged hopes of forming a league of young supporters to back him up amid his court case.
“This guy had so ingratiated himself into my life. This 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.”
In August 2003, Peck was arrested on a charge of lewd acts with a minor. This was after the actor allegedly m*lested a child star he was coaching over a six-month period, as per court documents obtained by Daily Mail. In consequence, Peck was convicted and spent 16 months in prison.
“We’re sitting in that courtroom on the wrong side of everything. There’s an actual victim here. And he turned us against the victim to where now we’re on his team. That’s the thing I can’t get over and haven’t been able to get over.”
Friedle claimed Peck manipulated the situation by making himself the victim. He recalled going to court, along with other fellow child stars, to show support for the disgraced actor.
The Trojan War star confessed his embarrassment for taking Peck’s side and called it his “ever-loving shame.”
Rider Strong Was Clueless About Convicted Costar’s Case
In the same podcast conversation, Rider Strong stated how he knew nothing about Peck’s case, and yet he was forced to show up in court together with other children as moral support.
“By the time we heard about this case and knew anything about it, it was always in the context of, ‘I did this thing, I am guilty. I am going to take whatever punishment the government determines, but I’m a victim of jailbait. There was this hot guy. I just did this thing, and he’s underage.’ And we bought that storyline.”
The mother of the victim confronted Peck, and according to Friedle, it was a horrifying experience to witness all of it and still be left in the dark.
“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?’ ”
Both Friedle and Strong acknowledged the possibility of their accounts affecting the legacy of Boy Meets World, but they believed it is important to address issues from their past.
