Danielle Fishel, Will Friedle, and Rider Strong say their estrangement from Ben Savage started during the push to launch Pod Meets World—and at Tribeca, Rider revealed Ben blocked them across social media and phone numbers.
When Doc Meets World premiered at the Tribeca Film Festival on Sunday, the cast didn’t just bring out a documentary about their shared history. They also brought out a fresh, more painful detail about what went wrong behind the scenes.
Danielle Fishel, Will Friedle, and Rider Strong have spoken on multiple occasions about their falling-out with their co-star, Ben Savage. They describe the strain as something that seemingly came out of nowhere while they were working to get Pod Meets World started—and they’ve been left confused for all this time about why Ben Savage ghosted them.
Danielle has said there weren’t really any hard feelings. Adults, she noted—things happen. She also suggested that Ben might simply not want to relive the past through the podcast. adding that she thought that idea was totally fair. Even so, she said they still haven’t gotten answers as to why he cut them off.
At Tribeca, Will addressed the situation as well. In a statement shared with US Weekly, he said: “I want to say it to his face.”
Danielle echoed the desire for a real conversation, agreeing it would be “good” if they could all just talk it out. But what’s emerged from the documentary suggests that a simple sit-down still isn’t on the table.
That’s where Rider’s disclosure hits hardest. In Doc Meets World, Rider said Ben had them blocked on everything. He explained that Ben “refused to do the [‘Pod Meets World’ recap] podcast. ” even though the cast thought they were still communicating with him “still on friendly terms.” Then the break became unmistakable—Rider said Ben unfollowed them on Instagram and blocked their phone numbers.
Rider added: “I feel sorry that he’s missing out on the experience that Danielle and Will and I are having.”
He also framed Pod Meets World as a turning point of sorts for himself. Rider said the podcast has been a great “midlife crisis” for him, and that after some time apart after the show ended, it brought him and his old friends back together. His sadness is clear: Ben isn’t sharing that moment.
Will, too, described the ongoing reach toward Ben. In the documentary. he admitted that he “probably at least once a month” will text Ben—hoping he’s been unblocked. or that his TV brother will reply. Will said he hopes that “maybe Ben will reach out one day,” and then added: “I really do miss him. He’s arguably one of the funniest people I’ve ever met in my life.”.
Boy Meets World Danielle Fishel Will Friedle Rider Strong Ben Savage Pod Meets World Doc Meets World Tribeca Film Festival estrangement