‘Boy Meets World’ Stars Criticize Cory Matthews’ Teaching in ‘Girl Meets World’

Fans of Boy Meets World may remember Cory Matthews as a character who grew up under the guidance of the strict but caring teacher Mr. Feeny. But according to some of the show’s former stars, Cory didn’t always live up to Feeny’s standards when he became a teacher himself.

Rider Strong, Danielle Fishel and Will Friedle recently revisited an early episode of Girl Meets World on their podcast, Pod Meets World, and questioned Cory’s behavior in the third episode of the sequel series.

The episode, titled “Girl Meets Sneak Attack,” aired in July 2014. Cory, played by Ben Savage, is now a history teacher at the school attended by his daughter Riley, played by Rowan Blanchard.

In the episode, Riley is upset because the boy she likes appears to be interested in another girl. While Cory is teaching, Riley’s friend Maya points his attention toward Lucas and Missy. Cory then allows Riley to leave the classroom.

That decision did not sit well with Strong, who played Shawn Hunter on Boy Meets World.

“And this bugged me,” Strong said during the podcast. “Because he’s being a horrible teacher.”

Fishel, who played Topanga, and Friedle, who played Eric, agreed with him.

Strong argued that Cory was allowing his personal feelings as Riley’s father to interfere with his responsibilities as a teacher.

“He’s going to let his daughter leave the class because he knows that she’s jealous of a boy liking another girl?” Strong said.

For Strong, the moment was especially disappointing because Cory had once been a student of Mr. Feeny, a teacher known for sticking to his principles.

Strong recalled that Feeny would never bend the rules simply to make things easier for a student. He felt Cory should have followed the same philosophy.

“Cory has to be the boundary-maker,” Strong said. “This is immediately troubling to me.”

He was also surprised that Disney and the creative team behind Girl Meets World were comfortable with the scene.

“It’s so weird that Disney was okay with this,” Strong said, describing it as “actually kind of a big deal.”

Friedle was similarly surprised that Girl Meets World co-creator Michael Jacobs approved the portrayal.

“I’m more amazed that Michael is okay with this,” Friedle said, pointing out how strongly Jacobs and William Daniels, who played Feeny, had emphasized the importance of portraying teachers properly on Boy Meets World.

Strong suggested that the sequel series sometimes leaned heavily into the idea that Cory had grown into an almost flawless adult.

“I thought the people in charge of Girl Meets World were very into the idea that Cory is sort of perfect,” he said.

Girl Meets World premiered in 2014 and ran for three seasons before ending in 2017. Savage and Fishel returned as regular cast members, while Strong and Friedle contributed creatively and made guest appearances.

The podcast has given Boy Meets World fans a chance to hear the original cast look back at the series and its successor, often with a mix of nostalgia, behind-the-scenes memories and fresh criticism.

In this case, the former cast members’ comments highlight one of the biggest challenges of bringing back a beloved character: growing up does not necessarily mean getting every decision right.