Betty White is one of Hollywood’s most beloved stars — but endured years of vicious abuse from costar Bea Arthur! Insiders say that shooting “The Golden Girls” was a secret misery for Betty, who was finally driven to hating her fellow actress! “Bea made Betty’s life a living hell,” revealed an insider. “There was no reason for it, except that Bea couldn’t stand it that Betty was so nice!” The twosome played friends and housemates on television, but their real-life feud went on until Bea died at the age of 86 in 2009! That’s the sickest secret behind the long-running show, which aired from 1985 to 1992 and centered on four women living together in Florida in their golden years. “Bea and Betty were very different people,” a Hollywood insider told The National ENQUIRER. “You’d think sweet, sweet Betty could get along with just about anyone — but she ran into someone she couldn’t please in Bea Arthur…”
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“She found me a pain in the neck sometimes,” admitted Betty. “It was my positive attitude — and that made Bea mad sometimes. Sometimes, if I was happy, she’d be furious!” A source says that tough-minded Bea, who played Dorothy Zbornak, didn’t like Betty “from the start” and felt Betty was a “prima donna who [thought she] was the real star of the show,” another source added.
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“She said Betty even tried to tell her how to deliver her lines,” revealed the on-set spy. “That’s something Bea would never stand for. One day early in the series, Bea said she just couldn’t hold back anymore — and she let rip at Betty, turning the air blue with her tirade!”
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Afterward, Bea began to regularly bully her new victim. She was so overbearing toward Betty that the other cast members —
Rue McClanahan, who played Blanche Devereaux, and
Estelle Getty, who played Sophia Petrillo — began calling her “The Butcher,” a source said.
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“Betty would be in the middle of a scene when Bea would start screaming at her and calling her names,” Rue’s former lover John Caldwell said. “Rue told me she kept hoping Betty would stand up for herself, but, instead, she would just start crying.” The feuding and bickering between Betty and Bea concerned the show’s producers, too — but there was little they could do to end the fighting, sources said.
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“The series became a huge hit, but the show’s execs had a major headache because of the Bea and Betty feud,” one insider revealed. The executives never considered replacing either actress to ease the on-set tension, added the source, “because they brought their characters to life, and the viewers loved them.”
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But by the end of the show’s run, “it often became unbearable to be around them,” the source added. “They simply hated each other!” Bea also angered all three of her costars when she ended the show by deciding to leave. “The other three didn’t want the series to end, but Bea’s departure would have left too big a void to fill,” one insider said.
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Rue died at 76 in 2010, while Estelle passed away at 84 in 2008. Both had starred in a “Golden Girls” spin-off called “The Golden Palace,” but the show was a flop and lasted just for the 1992–1993 season. In 2002, Betty and Estelle attended a performance of “Bea Arthur on Broadway” — and learned that their old costar
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Photo credit: Getty Images
When Bea went into the audience while taking her bows, she stopped and hugged Estelle — but pointedly snubbed poor Betty, who just quietly slipped out of the theater with the rest of the crowd. “Betty was crushed because Bea’s hatred toward her had never changed even after all those years,” said an insider. “It was humiliating. No one could blame Betty for hating Bea!”
“She found me a pain in the neck sometimes,” admitted Betty. “It was my positive attitude — and that made Bea mad sometimes. Sometimes, if I was happy, she’d be furious!” A source says that tough-minded Bea, who played Dorothy Zbornak, didn’t like Betty “from the start” and felt Betty was a “prima donna who [thought she] was the real star of the show,” another source added.
Photo credit: Getty Images
“She said Betty even tried to tell her how to deliver her lines,” revealed the on-set spy. “That’s something Bea would never stand for. One day early in the series, Bea said she just couldn’t hold back anymore — and she let rip at Betty, turning the air blue with her tirade!”
Photo credit: Getty Images
Afterward, Bea began to regularly bully her new victim. She was so overbearing toward Betty that the other cast members —
Rue McClanahan, who played Blanche Devereaux, and
Estelle Getty, who played Sophia Petrillo — began calling her “The Butcher,” a source said.
Photo credit: Getty Images
“Betty would be in the middle of a scene when Bea would start screaming at her and calling her names,” Rue’s former lover John Caldwell said. “Rue told me she kept hoping Betty would stand up for herself, but, instead, she would just start crying.” The feuding and bickering between Betty and Bea concerned the show’s producers, too — but there was little they could do to end the fighting, sources said.
Photo credit: Getty Images
“The series became a huge hit, but the show’s execs had a major headache because of the Bea and Betty feud,” one insider revealed. The executives never considered replacing either actress to ease the on-set tension, added the source, “because they brought their characters to life, and the viewers loved them.”
Photo credit: Getty Images
But by the end of the show’s run, “it often became unbearable to be around them,” the source added. “They simply hated each other!” Bea also angered all three of her costars when she ended the show by deciding to leave. “The other three didn’t want the series to end, but Bea’s departure would have left too big a void to fill,” one insider said.
Photo credit: Getty Images
Rue died at 76 in 2010, while Estelle passed away at 84 in 2008. Both had starred in a “Golden Girls” spin-off called “The Golden Palace,” but the show was a flop and lasted just for the 1992–1993 season. In 2002, Betty and Estelle attended a performance of “Bea Arthur on Broadway” — and learned that their old costar
was cruel as ever!Photo credit: Getty Images
When Bea went into the audience while taking her bows, she stopped and hugged Estelle — but pointedly snubbed poor Betty, who just quietly slipped out of the theater with the rest of the crowd. “Betty was crushed because Bea’s hatred toward her had never changed even after all those years,” said an insider. “It was humiliating. No one could blame Betty for hating Bea!”
Photo credit: Getty Images
