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Boy Meets World was one of the most wholesome sitcoms on the Disney Channel in the 1990s. Ironically, behind the scenes there was a major rivalry amongst the cast members regarding boy bands. Find out what was going on when the cast wasn’t shooting episodes of Boy Meets World

WILL FRIEDLE, BEN SAVAGE, DANIELLE FISHEL, RIDER STRONG, and MATTHEW LAWRENCE
WILL FRIEDLE, BEN SAVAGE, DANIELLE FISHEL, RIDER STRONG, and MATTHEW LAWRENCE | Walt Disney Television via Getty Images Photo Archives

‘Boy Meets World’ star Danielle Fishel used to date N’SYNC singer Lance Bass 

When Boy Meets World was hitting its stride, so were the big boy bands of the 90s. Around that time, Lance Bass and Danielle Fishel started dating.

“Of course, we bonded immediately and you know, fell in love immediately,” Bass told E! He recalled the first time he connected with Fishel to ask her out on a date. 

“I remember being in a hotel room — me and Justin Timberlake were sharing a room for some reason,” Bass said. “I remember I had to leave the first voicemail for [Fishel] so I got [her] number and I swear it took me about 45 minutes to figure out exactly what to say, so I didn’t sound too, like, ‘I’m trying too hard.'” 

Fortunately, whatever Bass said worked. Though he and Fishel only dated briefly from 1999 to 2000, he accompanied her to her senior prom and would often show up on the set of Boy Meets World.  

Matthew Lawrence is a Backstreet Boys mega fan

Today, Matthew Lawrence is married to Dancing With the Stars pro Cheryl Burke, who co-hosts the Pretty Messed Up podcast with her season 29 partner, AJ McLean. 

With each guest on the podcast, Burke and McLean will play “Kiss, Marry, Kill.” During the “What MATTers Most” episode, somehow, the discussion turned to which Backstreet Boy Lawrence would prefer to kiss, marry, and kill, which reminded him of a fun behind-the-scenes moment on the set of Boy Meets World.

As a recurring character on the show, Lawrence remembered the divide amongst the cast on the show — Backstreet Boys fans versus N’SYNC fans.

“I was a fan of your band,” Lawrence admitted to McLean. “In particular, your voice was the peak of the band by far.” 

Then, Lawrence shared something not many fans know about — there used to be competitive dance-offs to N’SYNC and Backstreet Boys songs on the set of Boy Meets World

The cast of ‘Boy Meets World’ had a Backstreet Boys versus N’SYNC rivalry 

Behind the scenes of Boy Meets World, there was a friendly rivalry between the cast members who liked the Backstreet Boys and those who preferred N’SYNC. 

Given Fishel’s relationship with Bass, Lawrence said: “We had N’SYNC coming to our set every day.” 

MAITLAND WARD, DANIELLE FISHEL, RIDER STRONG, MATTHEW  LAWRENCE, WILL FRIEDLE, WILLIAM RUSS, LINDSAY RIDGEWAY, BETSY RANDLE, WILLIAM DANIELS, and BEN SAVAGE behind the scenes of 'Boy Meets World'
MAITLAND WARD, DANIELLE FISHEL, RIDER STRONG, MATTHEW LAWRENCE, WILL FRIEDLE, WILLIAM RUSS, LINDSAY RIDGEWAY, BETSY RANDLE, WILLIAM DANIELS, and BEN SAVAGE | Walt Disney Television via Getty Images Photo Archives
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As Lawrence explained it, all of the male cast members preferred the Backstreet Boys. 

“We had a dance-off every Friday night that N’SYNC would come to our show where the boys would do ‘I Want It That Way’ in front of the audience just to zing it to N’SYNC,” Lawrence added. “It became a thing!” 

Lawrence said the audience loved the dance-offs so much, they had to continue doing them weekly.