Saved by the Bell’s Mark-Paul Gosselaar regrets controversial 'kissing without consent' episode

Mark-Paul Gosselaar, who starred as Zack Morris in Saved by the Bell, has admitted that there’s an episode of the teen sitcom that he really struggles to watch in 2023.

To be fair, unless you’re a teenager who is inexplicably obsessed with TV shows from the early 1990s, there are probably a few episodes of SBTB that you’d find a difficult watch, but this one particularly niggles the star for a different reason.

Obviously, things have become more progressive in the intervening years, and some things that people wouldn’t have batted an eyelid at in days gone by are no longer acceptable in the modern day.

In this episode - called 'The Lisa Card' - from the show’s first season, Gosselaar’s character Morris charges people money to kiss Lisa Turtle, played by Lark Voorhies, without her consenting to it.

NBC

If you need an example of something like that in the modern day, and how people might not be aware of that, look no further than the actions of Spanish FA boss Luis Rubiales after the FIFA Women’s World Cup Final in Australia recently.

He’s now resigned over the incident involving victorious Spanish player Jenni Hermoso.

But, we digress.

Gosselaar addressed his concerns over the now-unacceptable episode on podcast Pod Meets World featuring fellow 90s TV stars Danielle Fisher, Rider Strong, and Will Friedle, who were all stars of Boy Meets World.

Admitting he finds it ‘tough’ to watch the episode nowadays, Gosselaar said: "There was one where I was basically w*****g out Lisa Turtle.

"I charged people to kiss her without her consent.

“That was a tough one."

On the show, Morris charged boys $1 apiece to kiss Turtle after she came to him asking for help repaying a debt after maxing out her dad’s credit card.

It’s not the first time he’s addressed this.

Speaking on his own podcast Zack to the Future in 2020, he said: "I feel a little conflicted by this particular episode.

“It wasn’t as carefree and innocent as the last episode, but maybe it’s because I’m watching it through these eyes and not the eyes of a 13-year-old or the audience that watched it back in the ’90s.”

NBC

This one isn’t the only episode of the show that causes consternation in the light of 2023, as there’s another in which Morris gets in touch with his Native American heritage before presenting a report wearing a full headdress.

"There’s things that you just would not film nowadays," Gosselaar explained.

"There are things every single episode that we could pick out.

“At that point, you try not to be negative. It’s a watch party.

“It’s a tightrope walk.

“Overall, you try to be positive about the work and say, ‘That was a different time.’"

The show was hugely successful, running from 1989 to 1993, before being reprised on a few occasions with both new and returning cast.

Most recently, Gosselaar appeared in a reboot in 2020.