Betty White Cause of Death Clarified by Her Agent
Betty White died peacefully of natural causes, her agent and close friend Jeff Witjas confirmed in another statement on Monday. The television legend died on New Year's Eve at age 99, with Witjas announcing that she died "peacefully in her sleep" at home. However, fake claims that White got a COVID-19 vaccine booster shot three days before her death spread on social media. This is not true, Witjas said.
An image that spread on social media claims White said, "Eat healthy and get all your vaccines. I just got boosted today" on Dec. 28. This was a fabrication. "Betty never said this," Witjas told the Associated Press. He declined to say if White did get a booster shot before her death.
"Betty died peacefully in her sleep at her home. 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," Witjas continued in another statement to PEOPLE on Monday. "She never said that regarding the booster. Betty died of natural causes. She did not have the booster three days before she died."
The fake quote was attributed to an article published by Crow River Media headlined, "Betty White: I'm lucky to still be in good health." The original version of the article, which included quotes from a PEOPLE Magazine story, never included any mention of the COVID-19 vaccine.
On Dec. 28, PEOPLE published the lead article for its latest issue, which was about White gearing up for her 100th birthday. The Golden Girls star would have celebrated her centenary on Jan. 17. Her PEOPLE interview was done a few weeks before she died. "I'm so lucky to be in such good health and feel so good at this age," she told the magazine. "It's amazing."
In his original statement on Dec. 31, Witjas said White "died peacefully" at her home. "Even though Betty was about to be 100, I thought she would live forever," he told PEOPLE. "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."
White is known as the First Lady of Television thanks to her trailblazing career in the medium. Her career began just as televisions were becoming mainstays in homes across the country and continued into the streaming era. She won five Emmys, including two for The Mary Tyler Moore Show and one for The Golden Girls. A documentary about her life, Betty White: A Celebration, will hit theaters on Jan. 17. It was originally titled Betty White: 100 Years Young – A Birthday Celebration, but the title was tweaked after her death.