Sally Struthers says Bea Arthur ‘trashed everyone we ever knew’

Sally Struthers is feeling thankful for her friend, Bea Arthur. 

The All in the Family alum, 77, shared her deep appreciation for the late Golden Girls star, who died at 86 in 2009, and her propensity for trash-talking absolutely every single one of their mutual acquaintances during an episode of the Let’s Talk About That! With Larry Saperstein and Jacob Bellotti podcast. 

“I would run into her at the supermarket and she would trash everyone we ever knew,” Struthers recalled. “We would stand in the aisle and she’d say, ‘What do you think about so-and-so?’”

The Gilmore Girls star explained that when she tried to say a few kind words about the person, Arthur would often interrupt her by exclaiming, “‘Oh, she can’t be, because she’s a f—ing a–hole!’”

Struthers jokingly added, “People in the store were like, ‘What’s going on in aisle five?’” 

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Those supermarket smack-talking sessions have gone on to become some of Struthers’ favorite memories of Arthur. “I loved how filthy she was,” she said. “She was a big deal. I loved her.” 

While the actress had nothing but positive things to say about Arthur, the same couldn’t be said for her Golden Girls costar, Betty White. On the podcast, she described White as a “very passive-aggressive woman” and recalled an incident in which she claimed that the late comedian “fat-shamed” her for attempting to grab a cookie.

At the time, Struthers explained that she was visiting White’s Hollywood home to discuss a new game show pilot. 

“A plate was set in the middle and it was cookies, I think,” Struthers recalled. “So I reach for a cookie and [White] 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.'”

Listen to Struthers reflect on her relationships with White and Arthur in the podcast above.