Betty White reveals why Bea Arthur hated her

[bandonurse]

As I mentioned before, my guess is that Bea didn't so much hate Betty, as she was jealous of her. And I doubt she had to force herself to join her for lunch.

Going to lunch with Betty White would not be an act of sacrifice or generosity, it would be a joy. She's a delightful person. I'd be thrilled to have lunch with her any day.

[king of comedy]

Me too.

[ThomasE]

Originally Posted by bandonurse

“I think she felt she was more of an actress than Betty. Mom came from Broadway. ”

In other words, she was a colossal snob.

"Betty starred on a game show at one point"? At one point?

Are you freakin' kidding me? Betty White starred in two television shows in the early days of TV. Life With Elizabeth and Date With the Angels. She has done numerous motion pictures. (How many movies was Bea Arthur in?) And she was a FAVORITE guest on so many early television shows even Betty herself probably can't remember them all.

And since when does "coming from Broadway" justify calling someone "the c word" or giving her own son the impression that she was "more of an actress" than she was? Let's face it. She mistreated Betty. She mistreated Estelle Getty, and she mistreated an entire Broadway audience one night just because she got drunk.

Nice try, Matthew. I get it..you loved your mother. But you just provided more proof to the rumor that she was a bee-otch, without meaning to.

Agreed! No disrespect to him but if he is going to summarize Betty's Resume, then get the details. She did more than game shows. Betty had been in the industry close to 70 years (possibly even more). Bless his heart.

[TMC]

Originally Posted by bandonurse

As I mentioned before, my guess is that Bea didn't so much hate Betty, as she was jealous of her. And I doubt she had to force herself to join her for lunch.

Going to lunch with Betty White would not be an act of sacrifice or generosity, it would be a joy. She's a delightful person. I'd be thrilled to have lunch with her any day.

Bea and Betty had two very different personalities. Bea was a natural pessimist and low key, while Betty is a natural optimist and high energy. Betty seemed to be of the opinion of working hard but having fun while working, while Bea seemed more like she wanted things to be very serious.

[Cheesecake101]

I always imagined that the reason the actresses didn't get along was because they had opposite personalities. Betty was more upbeat and optimistic while Bea often times came across as a downer. But they were able to play the part of being best friends as Rose and Dorothy very convincingly. A truely good actor makes you believe their characters are real no matter what.

[bandonurse]

Originally Posted by Cheesecake101

But they were able to play the part of being best friends as Rose and Dorothy very convincingly. A truely good actor makes you believe their characters are real no matter what.

Absolutely. I've always admired how each of the four women played their characters. I just don't like what I've heard about Bea in real life. Makes me sad that someone blessed with such a privileged life couldn't just relax, be grateful, and enjoy it.

The incident described by Adrienne Barbeau when Bea disrupted a Broadway play with a drunken rant to demean the cast just further demonstrated that she needed to feel superior to others at all times. So her anger wasn't confined to just Betty.

As far as I know, no one else has had anything negative to say about Betty. At least, publicly. That's quite remarkable for someone who's been in Hollywood for over 70 years!

[KatieAnn]

If Bea had "drunken rants" then perhaps she had a problem with alcohol. That would put a different spin on her personality "flaws."

I don't mind that Bea played tough abrasive characters and that this quality was a part of her real personality. She sounds like somebody who didn't like anybody very much, and maybe she was too consumed with her own life and issues to bother with other people, and so she came off as not liking them - Betty included.

I bet that if you are somebody who is introverted and needs peace around her that having someone who is supposedly always cheerful would end up being a nuisance. Maybe Bea just preferred to be around people who were more mellow.

[TMC]

I found a blooper where Bea is not amused with Betty's antics. It occurs at 3:06. Rue screwed up her line and Betty begins to joke with the audience. Just as Betty opens her mouth you can hear Bea moan "oh god."

[Steve_uk]

It seems a hundred years ago. Funny how the mind plays tricks..

[JamesG]

"The Golden Girls" Creatives Spill the Tea on Bitter Feud Between Betty White and Bea Arthur — and Making a Classic Anyway
by Kimberly Nordyke
June 19, 2025


Creatives behind "The Golden Girls" shared funny and, at times, very candid behind-the-scenes stories — namely, among the long-rumored feud between stars Betty White and Bea Arthur — during a 40th-anniversary celebration of the long-running hit show on Wednesday night.

The sold-out event, held at NeueHouse Hollywood as part of the monthlong Pride LIVE! Hollywood festival, featured a panel of writers, producers and others who worked on the show, which ran for seven seasons on NBC, from 1985-92.




Co-producer Marsha Posner Williams brought up a topic that has been much-discussed and speculated on: whether Arthur and White got along in real life.

“When that red light was on [and the show was filming], there were no more professional people than those women, but when the red light was off, those two couldn’t warm up to each other if they were cremated together,” she quipped.

Arthur “used to call me at home and say, ‘I just ran into that c” — meaning White, using the c-word — “at the grocery store. I’m gonna write her a letter,’ and I said, ‘Bea, just get over it for crying out loud. Just get past it.'”




In fact, the panelists shared that Arthur called White the c-word more than once.

“I remember, my husband and I went over to Bea’s house a couple of times for dinner. Within 30 seconds of walking in the door, the c-word came out,” Williams said, and Thurm noted that he heard Arthur call White that word as well while sitting next to her on a flight.

It’s a story he shared a few years ago on a podcast and then got surprised at the internet’s response over his revelation.




The panelists differed on their theories about why the two didn’t get along.

Co-producer Jim Vallely thought it was because White got a lot more applause during cast introductions ahead of tapings, but Williams shot that down, noting that Arthur hated doing publicity and came from a different background (theatrical) than White (television).

“The show would have continued after seven years,” she shared. “Their contracts were up and … the executives went to the ladies, and Estelle said, ‘Yes, let’s keep going,’ and Rue said, ‘Yes let’s keep going,’ and Betty said, ‘Yes, let’s keep going.’ And Bea said ‘no ****ing way,’ and that’s why that show didn’t continue. … And Betty would break character in the middle of the show [and talk to the live audience], and Bea hated that.”




Script supervisor Isabel Omero remembered it differently, noting that the two used to walk “arm in arm” to get notes together after the first of two tapings.

Williams joked that was in case they were walking across the lot and a golf cart got out of control, suggesting that one of them might push the other in front of it.

https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/tv...ng-1236295065/

[cloggedmind]

Two polar opposite, very strong personalities as well as differing approaches to their craft-- no surprise there was a clash.

What came off the screen was pure magic and is still, arguably, one of the most enjoyable and enduring sitcoms ever. The cast was ensemble and had screen chemistry despite the behind-the-scenes this-n-that.

Stay Golden!

[BestTVever]

This drama still is leaking out. My gosh Bea hated Betty. The story about her constantly using the C word. But this article reveals that after the 5 year contract was up Bea could not wait to get away from Betty which is why she called it quits.