Wall Street Journal asks Betty White why the gays love her

Although it may be hard to believe, the Wall Street Journal actually broached the "gay following" subject with veteran actress Betty White. In the May 4th issue, Brooke Barnes interviewed White about the current state of comedy on television, why networks are struggling to keep sitcoms on the air and why she gets so much praise from the gays.

White provides some interesting and compelling answers through the Q&A. She explains that trying to cater to the lowest common denominator, having too many new channels trying to provide new content and having viewers desensitized to the novelty of television have all assisted in the lack of hit sitcoms in recent years.

Here’s the excerpt about the gay following of her hit show The Golden Girls:

WSJ: A network executive recently remarked that The Golden Girls has become a cult phenomenon among gay men. Why do you think that is?

Ms. White: There has always been a huge cult following for the show in the gay community. When the show was originally airing, the gay bars on Saturday night would all shut off their music at nine o'clock, put on the show, and then start up the music and start dancing again afterwards. We always got such a kick out of that.

Barnes also introduces the interview by stating that when White was asked about her gay following, she said “well, the gays know funny”. That we do, Betty -- that we do! We also love Betty because she keeps a clean house and looks fabulous doing it -- check out this commercial for Fantastik circa 1967 to see how: