Former Child Star Slams Network for Treating Girls 'Like Meat'

It's not the first time the show or its parent network have faced criticism.

Former Boy Meets World actress Maitland Ward is next in line to call out the series and its parent network for their problematic practices—especially as they pertained to female stars in the late '90s and early '00s.

Ward, now 46, opened up about the situation in a new interview with Fox News Digital.

"You had to be virginal, but you also had to be sexual," she explained, asserting that "the issues mainly came from Disney," rather than any of her cast members. "It was more the whole Disney machine back then, especially back in the late '90s and early 2000s when the girls were treated like meat."

Still, Ward, who joined the cast in the sixth season, remembers her time with the series as "innocent."

"Even though there were issues with Disney and production and my character and relationships, I do remember it as an innocent time," she said, adding that the cast felt like it "was very much family."

Related: Jennette McCurdy Slams Nickelodeon For This Double Standard While Working with Ariana Grande

She continued, "And I mean that in all possible ways because it's like with family. You fight with family, you have issues, but you still were connected. And I think a producer from the show told me no matter what, after all this time, we're always going to be connected in this. You can't change that. And I think that's special and good."

It's not the first time cast members of the popular Disney series have spoken up about the damaging set environment.

Danielle Fishel, Rider Strong, and Will Friedle, who co-host the podcast Pod Meets World, have previously spoken out about how beneficial having an intimacy coordinator on set would have been for them. "You weren't really supposed to say, 'I don't want to do this. I don't feel comfortable,'" Fishel said during the discussion. "You're a prop; as an actor, you say the words and do what's written on the page, no questions asked."

During another episode, the trio chatted with David Trainer, a director and supervising producer on the series, where they revealed that showrunner Michael Jacobs created a difficult atmosphere to work in, often leaving cast and crew members alike on edge.