‘Golden Girls’ Writer Reveals the Risqué Line Censors Let Slide 40 Years Ago ...Saudi Arabia

Picture it: Miami, September 14, 1985. Four single women move in together, eat cheesecake at all hours of the night, and instantly become TV legends. 

Starring Betty White as Rose, Bea Arthur as Dorothy, Rue McClanahan as Blanche, and Estelle Getty as Sophia, the Golden Girls premiered 40 years ago, drawing more than 21 million households (meaning tens of millions of viewers) on its first night. Fast-forward to 2025, and the show is still one of the most beloved sitcoms of all time. 

?DEBUT: ‘The Golden Girls’ premiered 39 years ago, September 14, 1985, on NBC pic.twitter.com/OKLd2j94xr

But behind the laughs and late-night kitchen chats? The writers were pushing boundaries — and sometimes slipping lines past censors that no one thought would make it on air.

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During a new interview with Fox News Digital, writer Stan Zimmerman, who worked on the Emmy-winning first season, revealed one moment that shocked even him. “I couldn’t believe what we got away with on the show,” Zimmerman said on Sunday, September 14. “Blanche says to her teacher, ‘You can kiss my A.’ And I’m like, that’ll never go. It’ll get flagged by the censors. And it’s in the show. It’s on T-shirts now.”

The line comes from the Season 1 episode “Adult Education,” where Blanche’s psychology professor offers her a passing grade in exchange for sex. Instead of giving in, Blanche delivers the zinger that became one of her character’s most iconic moments.

Blanche refuses to let her professor take advantage of her. #blanchedevereaux #thegoldengirls #goldengirls

“I think once you have a hit, you get away with a lot more,” Zimmerman explained. “People thought, ‘Oh, they’re just these old ladies. They can say anything. They seem so harmless.”

Beyond the jokes, The Golden Girls tackled storylines about HIV/AIDS, immigration, and LGBTQ+ issues — topics almost no other sitcom would touch in the ’80s. Zimmerman, who co-wrote several of those episodes, said the writers felt pressure to rise to the level of the cast. “We knew this wasn’t just some ordinary show,” he recalled. “We [couldn ’t] just give them ordinary jokes. We had to give them the best of the best because they were the best of the best.”

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Zimmerman’s latest comments come on the heels of another recent interview with the Los Angeles Times, where he named his five favorite episodes of the series. His list included the pilot, the Season 2 installment “Isn’t It Romantic?” and “Not Another Monday.” He also revealed that one of Rose’s heartfelt speeches about her late TV husband, Charlie, actually borrowed White’s own words about her real-life husband, Allen Ludden, the longtime Password host who died in 1981.

Betty White and her Husband Allen Ludden pic.twitter.com/Xjd9q0nygn

“We had read an article in the New York Times where Betty White talked about her husband, Allen Ludden, and took that quote and put it word-for-word into the script,” Zimmerman said. “We never told her, but she was talking about Charlie the way she talked about Allen.”

Zimmerman admitted he regretted not telling White before her death. “I always wish I had told her that’s where that line came from,” he said. “I never got to. It’s a big lesson: Don’t have regrets in life. Grab those moments.”

White was the last surviving member of the iconic quartet — she died on December 31, 2021, just weeks before her 100th birthday. Getty was the first to go in 2008 at 84, after battling Lewy body dementia. Arthur passed away in 2009 at 86, and McClanahan died in 2010 at 76.

Happy Birthday Golden Girls!! The Golden Girls premiered 40 years ago today. What are your favorite episodes? #thankyouforbeingafriend #GoldenGirls pic.twitter.com/mmaxCwLXvZ

Although the Golden Girls wrapped its run in 1992, its legacy is far from over. According to an official press release, ABC News is releasing a one-hour anniversary special this fall, featuring fresh behind-the-scenes stories from creator Susan Harris and executive producer Tony Thomas, along with many of the original writers and producers who helped shape the show.

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