Sally Struthers Steps Out After Bombshell Interview About Her Negative Experiences with Norman Lear and Betty White

Mar. 15, 2025

Sally Struthers.Photo:4CRNS, WCP / BACKGRID

4CRNS, WCP / BACKGRID

Sally Struthers is stepping out in public after her bombshell interview about her negative experiences in the entertainment industry

The actress, 77, took her dog to the vet in Beverly Hills on Thursday, Jan, 16, just days after opening up about unpleasant experiences with the lateNorman LearandBetty White. She was seen wearing an all-black look with knee-high boots and a gold heart-shaped necklace — seemingly the same outfit she wore for her Jan. 13, appearance on theLet’s Talk About That! With Larry Saperstein and Jacob Bellottipodcast.

Sally Struthers and her dog.4CRNS, WCP / BACKGRID

Struthers made several accusations about her time in Hollywood during the podcast episode, in which she revealedshe had been shamedduring her time onAll in the Family.

“All those years on the show, Norman and his wife would have dinner parties,” she said in the episode. Although the other stars of the show — Carroll O’Connor, Jean Stapleton andRob Reiner— and their spouses were often invited, Struthers claimed, “I wasn’t, in eight years, invited to his home. It didn’t feel good.”

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Struthers went on to say that even though she won two Emmys for her role in the series, she was “fourth banana” on the show after the other three leads. The “older, brilliant Jewish faith writers” knew how to write for the other characters, but not for “a young lady,” she said.

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“I usually had about three lines per show that said, ‘I’ll help you set the table, Ma,' ‘Michael, where are you going?’ and ‘Oh, Daddy, stop it,’” Struthers explained. “And then the next week I’d have the three same lines in a different order. And if they literally didn’t know what to do with me in a scene, they’d have me go upstairs to take a bath or wash my hair. It was very frustrating.”

She also remembered one particularly upsetting encounter when Lear once told her, “So we hired you because just like Carroll O’Connor, you have blue eyes and a fat face.”

Five seasons in, Struthers shared that sheeven sought legal counselto help her leave the show, but after spending $40,000 on legal fees during arbitration, she lost.

Edith Bunker, Carroll O’Connor, Norman Lear, Rob Reiner, Sally Struthers and Mike Evans.CBS via Getty

CBS via Getty

“[A] plate was set in the middle and it was cookies, I think,” Struthers said. “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.’”

“Totally fat-shamed me in front of the rest of the people in the room, and I thought, ‘Gosh, that’s not nice,’” she continued, adding, “I know everybody loves her. They loved her so much. They signed petitionsto get her to guest hostSaturday Night Live. I know all that. I didn’t have such a great experience with her.”

She then called White a “very passive-aggressive woman.”

source: people.com