Sadly, Disney+ is not rebooting The Golden Girls – and gay hearts are breaking
Sadly, the viral image (left) teasing a Golden Girls reboot was a massive fib (Facebook/NBC)
A viral poster has been doing the rounds recently, and appears to be an advert for a reboot of iconic ’80s/early ’90s sitcom The Golden Girls.
The poster features Tina Fey, Amy Poehler, Lisa Kudrow and Maya Rudolph apparently dressed similarly to the original cast of four, played at the time by Bea Arthur, Estelle Getty, Betty White, and Rue McClanahan.
Tina Fey appears to be taking on the role of Dorothy, Amy Poehler is Dorothy’s mom Sophia, Lisa Kudrow plays the delightfully dimwitted Rose, and Maya Rudolph is depicted as playing sex-positive role model Blanche.
Sadly, as much as we’d love this to be true… it’s not actually real.
The poster was actually a photoshop job made by a TV and movie parody Facebook page.
Amongst those most dismayed at the fact that we aren’t actually going to get a Golden Girls reboot were the show’s devoted legion of LGBTQ+ fans.
The series, which featured four older women sharing a Miami home, still retains cult status amongst the gays thanks to the trailblazing way it tackled a host of “controversial” subjects, such as the AIDS crisis, same-sex marriage and LGBTQ+ rights. The actors were all staunch LGBTQ+ allies as well.
“Why would you make fun of somebody who’s fat or who’s cross-eyed or who’s bald? And I won’t do gay-bashing jokes,” Estelle Getty famously said.
Bea Arthur, who played Dorothy, left $300,000 to a shelter for gay homeless teenagers in her will. The performer – who died in 2009 – was a long-term benefactor to the Ali Forney Centre, which is a New York-based homeless LGBT charity.
In 2010, then 93-year-old Betty White (who played Rose) spoke up for same-sex marriage, saying people should learn to mind their own business.
“I don’t care who anybody sleeps with. If a couple has been together all that time – and there are gay relationships that are more solid than some heterosexual ones – I think it’s fine if they want to get married.
“I don’t know how people can get so anti-something. Mind your own business, take care of your affairs, and don’t worry about other people so much.”
In 1990, in an episode titled “72 Hours”, the show became one of the first sitcoms to even mention the AIDS crisis. The episode sees White’s beloved character Rose Nylund discover that during a procedure to have her gallbladder removed, she may have been exposed to HIV via a blood transfusion.
But White and The Golden Girls used the sitcom to tackle this misinformation, showing viewers that anyone could be affected by AIDS, not just the LGBTQ+ community.
Then there was the iconic episode where Blanche helps two gay men get married. A queen!
So although the Golden Girls reboot might be fake, no one can take away the 180 episodes of the show that still exist, and that really have stood the test of time incredibly well. Maybe it’s time for a rewatch?
