The late Betty White’s “Golden Girls” co-stars might not have been her biggest fans.
Joel Thurm, who oversaw the casting of the “Golden Girls” as head of talent for NBC at the time, claimed Rue McClanahan (Blanche Devereaux) and Bea Arthur (Dorothy Zbornak) in particular had issues with White during an appearance on “The Originals” podcast. White passed away on New Year’s Eve in 2021.
“The women hated her,” Thurm told journalist Andrew Goldman when asked if the cast got along.
“Literally Bea Arthur, who I cast in something else later on, just said, ‘Oh, she’s a f–king c–t,’ using that word,” Thurm explained.
Betty White apparently didn’t get along with her “Golden Girls” co-stars.
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“Bea Arthur called Betty White a C-word?” Goldman questioned.
“Yeah, she called her the C-word. I mean, I heard that with my own ears,” Thurm replied. “And by the way, so did Rue McClanahan. Rue McClanahan said it to me in Joe Allen’s; Bea Arthur on the set of ‘Beggars and Choosers.'”
However, Thurm’s publicist clarified to Fox News Digital that McClanahan didn’t use the c-word to describe White, but instead claimed the actress said that White “could be a b–ch” during an outing at Joe Allen’s.
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Bea Arthur, who starred as Dorothy Zbornak in the show, allegedly referred to White as a c–t, according to the “Golden Girls” casting director.
Arthur passed away in 2009 and McClanahan passed away in 2010. However, Arthur’s son Matthew Saks has spoken about the rumored feud.
“You know, I’m always being asked the question if my mom hated Betty White,” Saks previously told Fox News Digital. “It’s not the way it is. I think my mom had some problems with her, but she liked her.
“I think it was George Bernard Shaw who said it’s fun to hate your neighbors,” he went on. “And I think what he meant was that everyone needs someone to say, ‘Oh, here she goes!’ We all need to have somebody that we can let get under our skin.”
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Arthur’s alleged dislike didn’t go both ways. White apparently adored Arthur, according to McClanahan.
(Photo by Bob Riha, Jr./Getty Images)
The two had completely different styles of acting which led to Arthur’s alleged dislike of White, according to an interview McClanahan did in 2009.
“Bea came from a New York stage point of view,” she said. “She always had what we call ‘the fourth wall.’ And Betty came from a television point of view. She would flirt with the audience, and pull up her skirt and say, ‘Hi, sailor.’ But Bea never acknowledged the audience.”
McClanahan also noted that the dislike didn’t necessarily go both ways.
“Betty was a big fan of Bea,” she had said. “Bea’s feelings about Betty were not mutual. She really did love Bea.”
