Betty White's agent is laying to rest rumors surrounding the TV icon's death.
There has been speculation that the star died at age 99 shortly after receiving her coronavirus booster shot on Dec. 28. This is based on false claims that White had previously said, "Eat healthy and get all your vaccines. I just got boosted today," according to People. In a statement to the outlet, White's agent and close friend Jeff Witjas said that the actress died "peacefully in her sleep at her home" on Dec 31.
"People are saying her death was related to getting a booster shot three days earlier but that is not true," Witjas continued. "She died of natural causes. Her death should not be politicized — that is not the life she lived."
Witjas added that White, who would have celebrated her 100th birthday on Jan. 17, never made the claims about receiving her booster.
"Betty died of natural causes," he reiterated. "She did not have the booster three days before she died."
In a separate statement announcing the news of White's death on Friday, Witjas told People that he thought she "would live forever."
"I will miss her terribly and so will the animal world that she loved so much," he said. "I don't think Betty ever feared passing because she always wanted to be with her most beloved husband Allen Ludden. She believed she would be with him again."
Ludden and White were married from 1963 until his death in 1981. According to Page Six, her late husband's name was the last word she said before she died. The revelation was made by Vicki Lawrence, who worked with White on "Mama’s Family" and who texted co-star Carol Burnett as soon as she heard the tragic news.
"I texted Carol and said, ‘This just sucks. I hate this. It’s just horrible to see the people you love so much go away,'" Lawrence, 72, recalled. "Carol wrote back and said, 'I know, I know. I spoke to Betty’s assistant, who was with her when she passed, and she said the very last word out of her mouth was 'Allen.'"
Zoe Papadakis ✉
Zoe Papadakis is a Newsmax writer based in South Africa with two decades of experience specializing in media and entertainment. She has been in the news industry as a reporter, writer and editor for newspapers, magazine and websites.
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