Reflecting on Brian Peck: Boy Meets World Cast’s Perspective
The entire February 19 episode of Pod Meets World included Rider Strong, William Friedle, and Danielle Fishel discussing their interactions with Boy Meets World guest actor and convicted sexual abuser Brian Peck. The co-hosts were joined by family therapist Kati Morton to discuss the moment Friedle declared they were “on the wrong side of everything.”
Understanding Brian Peck’s Role
Peck appeared in two episodes of Boy Meets World during season 5, and he connected with both Friedle and Strong. The crew felt a need to address Peck since his episodes are coming up in the podcast (the pod’s approach is generally more episode recap-oriented), and because Peck’s tale will be included in a future docuseries about earlier alleged abuse on several Nickelodeon sets. Fishel reported that Strong and Friedle were called for statements concerning Peck for this docuseries, Quiet on Set.
The Impact on Boy Meets World
“I didn’t go to parties. I didn’t do that stuff. But I was working a lot after Boy Meets World and this man had so ingratiated himself into my life, I took him to three concerts after Boy Meets World,” Friedle said. “The person he presented was this great, funny guy who was good at his job, and you wanted to hang out with. I saw him every day, went out with him every day, spoke to him every day.” Strong also stated he used to hang out with Peck “all the time,” despite being 20 years apart in age.Fishel conjectured that many adults on the set of Boy Meets World avoided pursuing the link because they didn’t want to come out as homophobic. “The other adults on set, who maybe could have or should have said… ‘Why is this guy going to Rider’s house for a party?’ There was a portion of them that didn’t say it because they were scared it was going to be regarded as homophobia,” she said, “instead of, ‘This is a boundary, homosexual or not. This is a boundary between adults and kids.’”
Facing Uncomfortable Realities
In 2003, Peck was charged with and eventually convicted of lewd conduct against a minor and oral copulation of a person under 16. Friedle stated Peck instantly began twisting his arrest “where it wasn’t his fault, it was the fault of his victim.” Strong stated Peck represented himself as a victim of jailbait, and minimized the type and amount of violations. “Back then, you couldn’t Google to find out what people were being charged with,” he noted. “So in retrospect, he was making a plea deal and admitting one thing — which is all he admitted to us — but it looks like he was being charged with a series of crimes, which we did not know.”
Supporting Victims: Moving Forward
Friedle and Strong both filed letters to the judge on behalf of their colleague and attended court during their sentence. “We’re sitting in that courtroom on the wrong side of everything … The victim’s mother turned and commented, ‘Look at all the renowned people you came with you. And that doesn’t change what you did to my kid,’” Friedle said. “I just sat there wanting to die. It was like, ‘What the heck am I doing here?’ It was bad all the way around.”“We weren’t told the whole story, but it doesn’t change the fact that we did it,” Friedle continued. “I still can’t get the words out to describe all of the things that I’m feeling inside of myself.”Source: VultureTrending post:
