Betty White’s agent is shutting down rumors surrounding the late actress’ death.
On Monday (Jan. 3), White’s agent and close friend Jeff Witjas revealed to People that the 99-year-old died of natural causes and he debunked claims that she received her COVID-19 booster shot days before her death. “Betty died peacefully in her sleep at her home,” he said. “People are saying her death was related to getting a booster shot three days earlier, but that is not true. She died of natural causes. Her death should not be politicized — that is not the life she lived.”
As REVOLT previously reported, the “Golden Girls” actress passed away at her home on Dec. 31. Witjas revealed the news of White’s passing to People in a statement. “Even though Betty was about to be 100, I thought she would live forever,” he said last week. “I will miss her terribly and so will the animal world that she loved so much. 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.”
After news of her death surfaced, several people took to social media to send their condolences and remember the Emmy Award-winning actress. Former “Reading Rainbow” host LeVar Burton tweeted, “Y’all, with the passing of #BettyWhite we have lost one of the best humans ever!”
White was just weeks shy of celebrating her 100th birthday and she had plans to commemorate her big day in a huge way. A movie special titled Betty White: 100 Years Young — A Birthday Celebration was planned for the “Mary Tyler Moore Show” actress. The Mike Trinklein and Steve Boettcher film follows White in her day-to-day life and was slated to hit 900 theaters across the country. It was also going to show live footage of her actual birthday party.
Boettcher and Trinklein said in a statement last week that they will move forward with their plans to show the movie on Jan. 17, which is White’s birthday, “in hopes our film will provide a way for all who loved her to celebrate her life — and experience what made her such a national treasure.”