The late Betty White’s “Golden Girls” co-stars may not have been her most enthusiastic fans.
On the latest episode of “The Originals,” Joel Thurm, who was in charge of casting the “Golden Girls” for NBC at the time, said Rue McClanahan (Blanche Devereaux) and Bea Arthur (Dorothy Zbornak) had difficulties with White. White died on New Year’s Eve 2021.
When asked whether the cast got along, Thurm replied to the journalist Andrew Goldman, “They despised her.”
“Literally, Bea Arthur, who I subsequently cast in something else, said to me, ‘Oh, she’s a f–king c–t,’ using that phrase,” Thurm recalled.
Goldman went on, “Bea Arthur called Betty White a C-word?”
“Yes, she called her the C-word. I mean, I heard it with my own ears. And by the way, Rue McClanahan did as well.
However, Fox News Digital‘s publicist clarified that McClanahan didn’t call White a “bitch” or anything of the sort, but rather claimed she said that White “could be a b–ch” during an outing at Joe Allen’s.
Both McClanahan and Arthur died in 2009 and 2010, respectively. Matthew Saks, Arthur’s son, has discussed the rumored rivalry.
“I’m frequently asked if my mother disliked Betty White,” Saks said in a Fox News Digital interview. “It’s not the case. I believe her mother had issues with her, but she didn’t like her. ”
“In my view, it was George Bernard Shaw who said it’s enjoyable to despise your neighbors,” he continued. “And I believe he meant that everyone needs someone to say, ‘Here she comes!’ We all need someone to irritate us.”
According to an interview McClanahan gave in 2009, the two had very diverse acting techniques, which led to Arthur’s reported dislike for White.
“Bea had a New York stage perspective,” she continued. “She was always playing with ‘the fourth wall.’ And Betty came from a television standpoint. She would flaunt her legs and shout, ‘Hi, sailor,’ in an attempt to appeal to the audience. But Bea never acknowledged the crowd.”
The dislike didn’t always go both ways, according to McClanahan.
“Betty had a huge respect for Bea,” she had informed me. “Bea’s feelings about Betty were not the same. She genuinely did care for Bea.”