Danielle Fishel on Her 'Boy Meets World' Contract: 'They Own My Likeness on Any Planet'

Danielle Fishel is highlighting the legal intricacies of capitalizing on her early Boy Meets World fame.

In a new interview on the Chicks in the Office podcast, published Wednesday (Nov. 11), Fishel, now 45, was asked to detail how she was able to secure a Boy Meets World-inspired cover for her new book Book Meets World.

“The idea of ‘meets world’ is not trademarked,” she explained. “You can’t trademark that. So, we could put anything. We can make anything ‘meet the world,’ ladies. I think that’s really ultimately what it is. I’m surprised, though, considering they do own our likeness.”

Boy Meets World, for those somehow unfamiliar, debuted on ABC in 1993 and wrapped its seven-season run in 2000. In the series, Fishel played Topanga Lawrence, the romantic interest of Ben Savage’s character, Cory Matthews. Both Fishel and Savage returned to their characters for Girl Meets World, which enjoyed a Disney Channel run from 2014 to 2017.

Thanks to her initial Boy Meets World contract in the ‘90s, Fishel said her likeness, at least in instances directly associated with the Topanga character, is not a facet of her career on which she can capitalize.

“My actual contract from the ‘90s says that they own my likeness on any planet, in any universe, forever, in perpetuity,” Fishel said on Chicks in the Office this week. “So the fact that I’m able to have a face and use it on anything is a little shocking.”

Fishel went on to get more specific, saying that her contract gave her zero stake in any officially licensed Topanga merchandise.

“ABC or someone owns that license,” she said, adding that this enables them to keep whatever money they make on any such products.

“They can’t own Danielle,” she further specified.

Fishel’s comments pair well with another star who first saw fame at an early age, Drake Bell. During an appearance on N3on’s livestream earlier this month, the Drake & Josh alum spoke candidly about receiving “no residuals” from the beloved Nickelodeon series.