'Boy Meets World' Maitland Ward Breaks Silence On Heated Podcast Fight With Co-star

Maitland Ward is not holding back after her explosive clash with Danielle Fishel on the podcast "Pod Meets World."

The "Boy Meets World" actress claims the heated exchange was not just an emotional moment but a setup. According to Ward, Fishel and co-hosts Will Friedle and Rider Strong "orchestrated" the confrontation, reigniting long-standing tensions between the former co-stars. 

Maitland Ward and Danielle Fishel's relationship has been strained for years, but their latest exchange pulled back the curtain on just how deep the rift goes.  

The 48-year-old revealed that she found it odd Fishel never brought up their past tensions during casual conversation, only to confront her at the end of the show when she least expected it. 

"I thought the show was winding down at that point. And I think she wanted to catch me off guard. She wanted to try to rattle me, and she did. I didn't expect it," Ward explained.

Ward shared that she has not spoken to Fishel, Friedle, or Strong since the explosive episode. She also pushed back against Fishel's claim that she only appeared for attention, questioning why she was invited in the first place if drama was not the goal. Speaking to The New York Post, Ward noted:

"If she really didn't want to have a dramatic fight with me, she didn't have to start it and she didn't have to invite me on the show. And Will didn't have to lure me in by saying, 'Oh, it's going to be so much fun.'"

Ward ultimately believes they planned the ambush all along, and she is even more hurt by the possibility that Friedle may have been involved, too.

Ward is reevaluating her friendships in the wake of her heated clash with Fishel on "Pod Meets World," and Friedle is at the top of the list. The actress admitted that the fallout from the tense exchange has made her question whether Friedle evertruly had her back. 

In her own words, "I can't trust that he would ever watch out for me in a situation or have my back." Over the years, she disclosed that he repeatedly reassured her that she would be a guest on the rewatch podcast, hyping it up as a fun and nostalgic experience.

But after how things played out, Ward is left wondering if the invitation was ever about reconnecting or if she was simplybeing set up for a dramatic confrontation.

"Will had presented this show to me before like it was going to be so much fun. We're going to talk about all the times. The fans are going to love it. We finally get into your season," Ward revealed.

ICYMI, the long-running tension between the two women finally came to a head on "Pod Meets World" when Fishel bluntly asked Ward, "Do you hate us?" The Blast reported that Ward immediately shut down the idea, insisting she harbored no hatred but turned the question back on Fishel. 

"I think that you hate me because you wouldn't speak to me on 'Girl Meets World,' and that was hurtful," Ward responded. The exchange quickly became heated as both actresses revisited their strained dynamic.

The TV personality pointed out that she first realized something was off when she tried to message Fishel on Facebook in 2013, only to find out she had been unfriended.

Fishel dismissed the idea that it was personal, claiming she barely used the platform and did not even see Ward's message until 2022, coincidentally the same year she extended an invite to the podcast.

The tension between former co-stars hit a boiling point when Fishel confronted Ward about her past remarks on the "Pod Meets World" podcast. Fishel called out Ward for frequently making negative comments about the show and its cast whenever it made headlines. 

But Ward was not having it as she argued that she does not follow the podcast closely but believes the hosts focus too much on negativity.

Pushing back, Fishel defended the show's approach. "The same way you wrote your book about your experiences doesn't mean that they're negative. They're just experiences," she explained.

Ward, however, was not convinced. She fired back with an accusation of her own, claiming that Fishel, Strong, and Friedle only invited her onto the podcast to boost ratings.

The tension between Ward and Fishel did not start on the podcast; it had been simmering for years. Ward previously hinted at the ongoing disconnect between them in her book. 

The Blast reported that Ward first spoke about the awkward encounter in her 2022 memoir, "Rated X: How Porn Liberated Me From Hollywood."

In the book, she recalled running into Fishel at a party and feeling ignored. "Danielle didn't speak to me at all, which I thought was odd," Ward wrote, adding that the actress "barely acknowledged that I was even there."

Ward also noted that the last time she had seen Fishel in person before that moment was at her 2006 wedding to husband Terry Baxter. Despite the distance over the years, Ward insisted there was no prior bad blood between them, making Fishel's behavior at the party all the more puzzling.

With her recent statements, Maitland Ward is making it clear she will not be staying silent about what she sees as a calculated ambush.