Sally Struthers says she was once ‘fat-shamed’ by Betty White

CNN
 — 

It turns out not everyone loved “American’s grandmother,” Betty White.

During a conversation on the podcast “Let’s Talk About That! With Larry Saperstein and Jacob Bellotti,” actress Sally Struthers shared an experience she said she had years ago with White, who died in 2021 at the age of 99.

The “All in the Family” star acknowledged how cherished White had been during her life, with Stuthers saying people “loved so much.”

“They signed petitions to get her to guest host ‘Saturday Night Live,’” Struthers said. “I know all that. I didn’t have such a great experience with her.”

Struthers described White as a “very passive-aggressive woman.”

She went on to recount a story about visiting White’s home to work on a new game show, and White asked her housekeeper to bring them a bite to eat.

Struthers said a plate of cookies was brought out and set before people gathered at a table.

“So I reached 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,’” Struthers recalled.

The hosts of the podcast reacted with surprise.

“Totally fat-shamed me in front of the rest of the people in the room,” Struthers added. “And I thought, ‘Gosh, that’s not nice.’ ”

She had kinder things to say about White’s “Golden Girls” co-star, Bea Arthur.

Years before that show became a hit, Arthur guest-starred as Maude, a cousin of Jean Stapleton’s Edith Bunker on “All in the Family.”

Struthers called Arthur “a force of nature” and the character was spun off in a series titled “Maude,” which ran from from 1972 to 1978 on CBS.

Arthur died of cancer in 2009. She was 86.