'Boy Meets World' Star Trina McGee Says Showrunner Wanted Her To 'Turn Down The Telma Hopkins About Eight Notches'
Boy Meets World star Trina McGee revealed more of the racism she experienced while starring in the ’90s sitcom, including when she was told to “turn down” her Blackness.
Insider reports that McGee talked about her experiences on Pod Meets World, hosted by Boy Meets World stars Rider Strong, Will Friedle and Danielle Fishel. She talked about how she felt she had to keep herself toned down for the show.
"On 'Boy Meets World,' my Black meter was probably down to about a two," she said. But, she said that when she filmed an episode in Season 7, called "Angela's Ashes," she described her "Black meter had slipped up" and she was "at about a nine."
This led the showrunner, Michael Jacobs to talk to her. According to her, he described her as singer and Family Matters star Telma Hopkins, telling her to “just turn down the Telma Hopkins about eight notches.”
She said that she knew what he was talking about and did what he said. But, she told Friedle, Fishel and Strong that they were "lucky" for not having to think about race while acting. "Sometimes it was too much."
McGee, who had originally accused Friedle of racist treatment by calling her Aunt Jemima before accepting his apology a few years ago, is keeping the hatchet buried by showing up on the podcast. Friedle and McGee also talked about the incident on the podcast. Both said they wanted to move past what happened.
At the time, McGee accused Friedle of racism, she also accused Ben Savage and Fishel of having “cowardly egos.” Fishel also apologized a few years ago for her actions.