Actors Will Friedle and Rider Strong are sharing their support for their former “Boy Meets World” co-star, Danielle Fishel, as she continues on her “Dancing With the Stars” journey.
On their iHeart “Pod Meets World” podcast Saturday, Friedle and Strong defended Fishel’s performance on the Oct. 28 Halloween-themed episode of “DWTS,” in which she and partner Pasha Pashkov danced a Viennese waltz to Lady Gaga and Bruno Mars’ “Die With a Smile.”
Fishel and Pashkov received 33 out of 40 points for the number, just one point higher than Elaine Hendrix and Alan Bersten’s score. Hendrix, an actor whose credits include “The Parent Trap” and “Dynasty,” was sidelined by a rib injury before the broadcast, requiring judges Derek Hough, Carrie Ann Inaba and Bruno Tonioli to assess her rehearsal footage in lieu of a polished performance.
After acknowledging their views come “with the bias of having a friend on the show,” Friedle and Strong nonetheless accused Hough, Inaba and Tonioli of judging Fishel too harshly.
“Carrie Ann has her favorites,” Friedle said. “She’ll have two or three that, no matter what they do ― they could walk on the stage, trip, hit their face ― and she’d be like: ‘You tried so hard, 9!’ And then Danielle does the best thing where she’s doing triple flips, and she’s like: ‘You’ve got to hold your shoulders different, too,’ and it’s like: What the fuck?”
