Not-So-Golden Girl? Sally Struthers Recalls Being 'Fat Shamed' by Betty White

"All in the Family" alum Sally Struthers claims that the star of another classic sit-com – the late Betty White of "The Golden Girls" – "fat shamed" her over a cookie, and did it in front of other people.

Struthers, 77, recounted her anecdote about White during an appearance on the podcast "Let's Talk About That! With Larry Saperstein and Jacob Bellotti," Entertainmenrt Weekly relayed.

The podcast's hosts led into the subject of "The Golden Girls" by noting that both shows delved into LGBTQ+ issues during their runs. Struthers leaned into the casting connection the sitcoms shared, explaining how "Cousin Maude" (played by "Golden Girls" star Bea Arthur) came to be introduced on "All in the Family" before getting her own spinoff, "Maude." Struthers pivoted to the subject of Betty White, calling her "a very passive aggressive woman."

"I know everybody loves her," Struthers said of the comedian, who died in 2021 at the age of 99. "I didn't have such a great experience with her."

The incident in question took place when "the pair were working together on the pilot for a new game show in White's Los Angeles home," EW recounted.

According to Struthers, White "asked her housekeeper to bring in a plate of whatever to us while we were all sitting and talking about what was working about the game show and what wasn't working."

"A plate was set in the middle and it was cookies, I think," EW quoted Struthers saying. "So, I reach for a cookie, and she said in front of everyone, 'Oh, I wouldn't do that if I were you, dear. You don't need a cookie.' Totally fat-shamed me in front of the rest of the people in the room, and I thought, 'Gosh, that's not nice.'"

EW recalled that White was a popular actor on "The Mary Tyler Moore Show" in the 1970s before becoming a regular on game shows, even hosting a game show of her own in the 1980s. A later role found her starring on "Hot in Cleveland" from 2010-2015.

But White might be best remembered today for her stint as Rose on "The Golden Girls," a sitcom that ran fro seven seasons from 1985-1992. The show, about four older women – Blanche (Rue McClanahan), Dorothy (Arthur), and Rose (White), along with Dorothy's octogenarian mother, Sophia (Estelle Getty) – captured the hearts of gay men around the globe with its depiction of friendship and strong, mature women.

EW relayed that Struthers also had a happier bit of trivia to share about "The Golden Girls."

"My house was on a street called Saltair," Struthers shared, "and four houses up the street from me was the house that was filmed as the exterior for 'Golden Girls.'"

"I lived four houses down from the 'Golden Girls' house!"

Struthers also discussed the origins of "All in the Family" (which was inspired by a British TV series), her time on the show, how she came to choose "Struthers" as her stage name, and other dishes on the film and TV industry.

Watch Struthers' appearance on the podcast below. (The discussion of "The Golden Girls" begins at about the half-hour mark.)