UPDATE FROM BETTY HERSELF: My Dear Damien, Thank you so much for trying to get rid of this silly prank on my behalf. I can’t say that I am angry at my many wonderful fans for distributing the story, but I am disturbed – because of its content – that it has become such a sensation and attributed to me. Of course I enjoy a blue joke as much as the next person, but this one goes just a bit beyond where I would step professionally. Thank you. You’re a sweetie. Hugs and Kisses, Betty. ( 3:50 PDT)
There is a new Facebook Hoax going around and it’s one where there is a picture of Betty White and a quote attributed to her.
“Why do some people say, ‘Grow some balls?’ Balls are weak and sensitive. If you really wanna get tough, grow a vagina. Those things take a pounding.” Betty White
Betty White never said this but of course the stupid morons on Facebook are spreading it around — so happy that Betty White said something all sassy and dirty.
BETTY WHITE NEVER SAID THIS! Geez, I even had to fix the punctuation on the stupid quote. The truth is that the joke was originally written by comic #Sheng Wang on Mixtape Comedy Show. Wang borrowed it from something that was supposedly said by another famous comic, and now somebody affixed Betty’s name to it with the stupid excuse that it SOUNDED like something she would say. The same thing has been done to #George Carlin and #Don Rickles and #Bill Cosby. It doesn’t matter how cute it “sounds” coming from Betty White, because she didn’t say it.
We got first hand information from this Hollywood writer that she indeed did not say it.
“I think that people on Facebook who pass this stuff around are mindless.. It takes just a few seconds to verify. I have had morons tell me “so what, she didn’t say it — it’s still funny.” You don’t put quotes around words and then attribute those words to a specific person. It’s not only illegal, it’s stupid.” Source —> http://www.imdb.com/name/nm3834680/?ref_=fn_al_nm_1
Watch the video link on comment #5 below — and then tell me who said what? Also note below the letter sent to me by Betty White herself.
UPDATE! UPDATE!: My Dear Damien, Thank you so much for trying to get rid of this silly prank on my behalf. I can’t say that I am angry at my many wonderful fans for distributing the story, but I am disturbed – because of its content – that it has become such a sensation and attributed to me. Of course I enjoy a blue joke as much as the next person, but this one goes just a bit beyond where I would step professionally. Thank you. You’re a sweetie. Hugs and Kisses, Betty. ( 3:50 PDT)
Actually, for the punctuation to be correct, the question mark should be outside the quotes, a la: ““Why do some people say, ‘Grow some balls’? Balls are weak and sensitive. If you really wanna get tough, grow a vagina. Those things take a pounding.” Betty White
If the quote within the quote asks a question, the question mark goes INSIDE the quotes. The quote within the quote obviously asks a question. Damien punctuated the misquote correctly.
Thanks, Cali — another f**********ing a-hole. The other thing that annoys me about the fake Betty quote is the use of two exclamation points. I don’t think there is any excuse to use exclamation points twice in the same general area. I remember a teacher who believed that the over-use of exclamation points is is the hallmark of a bad writer.
Cali – xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx? If it xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx.
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
I have edited your letter — not because you might be right, but because you’re a beligerent jerk-off who uses fake Email addresses. When you grow up and use a real email, I will give you air-time — in the meantime, you can go fuck yourself — AND — you knew about the Savage quote!!! You knew that my entire article was correct but still continued to be a jerk-off. Please — I do not want a-holes like you coming to my site. Stay there in Olympia and grow pot and suck off a Sasquatch at the truckstop. Don’t bother me. I already have enough problems with Bigfoots here in the NYC metro area.
Dan Savage=/=Ben Savage, I wasn’t being a jerkoff – that’s you. You tout your professional journalism and then jump on the guy who originally said the quotation was correct (he was right) and insult his education and intelligence.
Also, this is my real email address. But if you’re going to cry like a child about someone correcting you and edit their words (it’s ok to change what someone said when they’re not famous!) then the five minutes I’ve spent on this site is far too much. I’m sure the next person who comes along will be more impressed with your logging of their apartment building’s shared wifi connection.
LIAR!
Yeah you know what, i was one of them, i ran across something that said she did, and i posted it, its called a mistake, not sure whats eating you, but how about a beer and we can talk about it
It’s called mindlessness — and the internet lulls us all into a state of it. Nothing wrong with you — you said, “It was a mistake.” That was the best and most honest answer I got.
damien
I THINK that this idea actually belongs to Hal Sparks. He said it back in 2010, if not before. When did that Ben guy come up with it? Or Sheng? ALl I can find from him is 2011 stuff…. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DcM0DPH2bNo
Follow up. I did find the Dan Savage quote from April 2010, but also found a reference to Hal Sparks saying this from 2009, so he still is earlier. I am definitely not trying to be a know it all but I think that Hal deserves his recognition if he is indeed the original author.
Dan Savage article circa April 29, 2010: http://www.thestranger.com/seattle/SavageLove?oid=3948355
Hal Sparks reference circa Feb 16, 2009: http://amandaisannoyed.blogspot.com/2009/02/using-pussy-as-negative.html
Please, jokes get passed around all the time. Everyone is a branch of someone else, especially in the entertainment industry. Greed is eating this world like a cancer. What’s next, start copy writing everyday conversations? This has gone too far and needs to chill the f***k out. SO WHAT about the punctuation, it’s the freakin’ internet! If I read something that’s not properly spelled or punctuated, I still get the idea, it comes across. Geesh! I watched the two comedians in question and seen Betty White say it on “Hot in Cleveland” sitcom. They all present it a little differently. -Peace
Yes, punctuation doesn’t matter, you moron. It’s better that we create a generation of functional illiterates, right? Listen. This JOKE was NEVER uttered by Betty White on Hot In Cleveland — that’s a typical lie that mindless people put forward to bolster their laziness. Peace my ass!
You are full of bologna, D, and you don’t even know it. I used to “walk Betty’s poodle,” lived in the same apartment building. We were trying out a new position once, the dancing pony I think, and my balls got crushed. As I lay there crumpled in her arms, she told me that joke to cheer me up. It was late December 2008, AT THE LATEST!!
Well, it is still humorous despite the illegalities of false attribution, and idiotic grammatical errors, simply because the thought of BW saying such WOULD be cause for a chuckle. No reason to lump everyone under “mindless asshole”, as some of us just refused to take the same stick-in-ass procedure as yourself. Don’t get me wrong, you get respect for having more to show for your journalistic repertoire, but you lose a whole lot more for being an elitist cockbite.
P.S. I greatly appreciate your brand of smack talking fools, and hope to receive a wicked lashing.
I’m with #15. Yeah, lots of people got it wrong. So, delete post/correct attribution, move the fuck on. No, those people don’t all deserve to be called “mindless assholes”. Yes, the OP is acting like a pompous douchenozzle and blowing this way out of proportion. Yes, correct attribution matters – no, not that much.
I don’t get how “grow some balls” is a question.
Um, there is a question mark there because just a few words before “she” said that, the sentence is started with “Why”. Lol. Happy birthday Betty!
Thanks for the article btw. I write a little entertainment blog and was just about to use this photo for her bday. Appreciate you stopping me from looking like a tool. 😛
thanks for the truth. we need more of it. Keep up the hard work.
“I think that people on Facebook who pass this shit around are mindless assholes.” but you provide a link to share it
@studmuffin -If there is an earthquake – isn’t somebody supposed to report on it?
Yes of course Betty White never said that line, but she easily could have. It is very much in line with the sort of thing we EXPECT her to say, all since her performance in “Lake Placid.”
I love her spunk and her willingness to take risks as a performer. She is tops in my book!
StveF — Okay, so you it’s okay to put something like that on the internet where the average imbecile will believe that Betty goes around saying those kinds of things. Send me a picture of your grandmother and I’ll pass it around with the quote, “My pussy took a pounding back in the 40s and 50s but now look at all the fucking grandkids I have!”
who really cares i mean actually setting up a site dedicated to it wow you have too much time on your hands
The site is not dedicated to Betty White. You can’t even punctuate a sentence let alone understand the contents of a blog — moron. You probably shared the stupid fake quote and now you’re ashamed. It’s okay. There is nothing wrong with being a moron. Let me tell you something else. The old “you have too much time on your hands” thing is soooooooooo played out and tired. I dedicate a few minutes a day to this blog, and it probably earns me more side money than your salary.
Thank God that there are people like Damien who are dedicated to the truth. Shame on anyone who took that quote to be from Betty White. Anyone who is familiar with her comedy knows that when Betty does work blue she relies on SUBTLETY (look it up idiots) and impeccable comedic timing. She doesn’t need to say “balls” or “vagina” like some lower-class comedians who rely on filth to make money. I applaud that someone was able to expose this hoax and get to the truth. Bravo.
I don’t know whether Betty White uttered this phrase or not, but it isn’t so outrageously vulgar that I can’t believe she said it.
In fact, it immediately made me think of her hilariously funny line in Lake Placid: “If I had a dick, this is where I’d tell you to suck it..”
http://youtu.be/sgRwTe1aSRY
Thanks for clearing this up. I thought Betty White might actually have said it, in light of her hilariously funny line in Lake Placid: “If I had a dick, this is where I’d tell you to suck it..”
http://youtu.be/sgRwTe1aSRY
Damien,
I stumbled on your blog while trying to verify the Betty White quote…I love it! Keep up the good fight. I am also put off by poor grammer, etc., because I feel it takes language’s ability to communicate very specific ideas and degrades it into something that infers vague notions. Are we content to simply bark at each other, so as to announce our presence?
The quote was properly punctuated as originally written. The placement of the question mark inside the quotation marks in incorrect in this case. Although periods and commas are always placed inside quotation marks, this is not the case for question marks. Question marks should be placed inside quotation marks if the quoted material is a question. If a question ends with quoted material that is not itself a question, the question mark should be placed outside of the quotation marks. In this case, “grow some balls” is not a question, and so the question mark should be placed outside the quotation marks. While the frequent use of exclamation points is often poor form, they were not used incorrectly here, just excessively.
As the originator of the Fake Betty White thing, I think this dude should give me credit — when he does I will give him a backlink. Damien LeGallienne
Bravo, Emily, for clearing that up. I’m a bit of a grammar nazi, and it really irritated me to see that there were so many people arguing over the punctuation of this quote, when all it takes is half a brain to know that “grow some balls” isn’t a question. I mean, come on guys. Was it really that hard to pay attention in first grade? And regardless of who originally said this, it’s still funny. I stumbled upon this site while searching for the original author of this quote. Is it really that hard to google and find or who actually said it first? I think not.
*find out
DDM on October 10, 2011 at 6:58 pm said:
I don’t think there is any excuse to use exclamation points twice in the same general area. I remember a teacher who believed that the over-use of exclamation points is is the hallmark of a bad writer.
DDM on October 14, 2011 at 7:58 pm said:
you knew about the Savage quote!!!
Hmm…
Anyway, I enjoyed the read. I always find it interesting the intensity of one’s comments on the internet; cheap entertainment. I believe my question was answered though as I was curious about the true source of this particular joke.
Thanks Daijah! finally someone with an actual brain not just a simpleton moderator with a frail ego… only the smallinded belittle others while stroking their own ego. I came here looking to verify the quote as well but leave amused at what trivialities people use themselves
Thanks Daijah! finally someone with an actual brain not just a simpleton moderator with a frail ego… only the smallinded belittle others while stroking their own ego. I came here looking to verify the quote as well but leave amused at what trivial pursuits people occupy themselves with to feel superior.
First of all, you making such a BIG deal that she didn’t say this is a little stupid. Who cares if she said it; it’s funny. If people post this, SO WHAT? It doesn’t make them mindless or a$$ holes. Your filthy mouth makes you look worse than someone who posts this! No, it should not be made up that Betty said this if she didnt! But….have you watched Lake Placid? She said “If I had a dick, this is where I would tell you to suck it” Im not saying she is bad to say things like that in a movie because she got paid a lot of money for it. My point is that people who post this had NO clue if she did or didn’t say it because its not beneath her!! So, I think making. A big deal about this is a little stupid, but I really think you calling people names with your filthy mouth is pretty pathetic. You need to fix your own problems instead of judging others!
Mammie — you’re response is typical of the type of mentality which dominates Facebook.
“Who cares if she said it; it’s funny,” is the common non-logic that rules in the world of mindless Facebook sharers and misquoters.
If you think “who cares” did you bother to note Betty White’s personal response to the Damien Zone? Probably not, because your reading comprehension skills are limited – and that’s okay. I suggest you read this more recent explanation of why people like you lash out at me. https://thedamienzone.com/2013/02/07/facebook-story-about-rose-87-year-old-lady-in-college-fake-hoax/
PS — I use foul language because that’s the only way I can get at least one person to UNDERSTAND that misquoting people is wrong. What if I were to put a photo of you all over the internet where, over that image, I inscribe the words, “I Cover the S’s in asshole with $$ signs, because I wipe my ass with money” Sincerely Mammie.
Would you be okay with that? I don’t think so since you are offended by my language and it’s not even blamed or directed at you.
Proof, you have no clue what you are talking about, I don’t have a FB!! I just ran across this stupid webiste. I didn’t say it bothered her. Another reason to prove you have no clue what you are talking about. I assure you if she was paid for this pic with these words, there would not have been a problem! I said it was wrong if Betty didnt say it! So, take your $ and wipe your dirty butt and mouth and get some glasses so you can see!!! People like you apparently enjoy griping and judging others on what they do and why they do it, which is none of your buisness and isnt your place to judge what anyone does. (Except for yourself!!) Last, there is no excuse why you have a filthy mouth, other than its a bad habit! I ran across this on accident and couldn’t believe that you assumed how someone was by what they thought was funny and started a stupid website to judge them by cussing. I just felt you needed to be told judging is GOD’s place and your sins are no better than anyone else’s. So, take a minute and read your bible and pray for people instead of getting on a forum site and cussing them. That makes you look worse than the people who posted a pic of Betty with some random words she may or may not said!!
Holy f*ck lighten up. It is a joke. People who circulate these things on FB have a sense of humour which you obviously lack. Does it really matter if Betty White didn’t say it?
I don’t sin, you dag-burned crackpot! And you don’t have to have a Facebook account to be a Facebook moron. Also, I don’t hate anybody. I am very intelligent, and by writing this kind of stuff — which takes me all of about 20 minutes a day — I make A WHOLE LOT OF EXTRA MONEY! Listen, I am a talented writer. I put absolutely no effort into this shit and look what happens? I get to see you jump through hoops over nothing.
Andy — I would agree that sense of humour should be inherent, but the Betty White hoax is the pop culture version of he far worse misquotes that get spread around on Facebook and other social media. Also, if you read the comments — all of them — you will see that my detractors have no sene of humour. They are vicious morons.
“You don’t have to have a Facebook to be a Facebook moron” .. HA HA!! That comment proved you are far from being smart, it makes you look like an idiot!!!! Read very slowly, you have to drink alcohol to be an alcoholic, and to be a Facebook ANYTHING, you have to have a Facebook!!!!! I thought I might tell you that for future reference!! Last, keep telling yourself your smart because it might work, eventually! Get this thorough your head people are laughing at a joke, words on a picture!! No one means any harm to Betty. It’s YOU that are making fun of people because they “post” a picture with words on it. Since your SO bored, find the person that put the picture, added the words, and make a website up about them! Apparently, you have a lot of time on your hands, so use your time for something besides making up sites just to fuss about STUPID things!! It’s not the people who laugh that’s bad!! You are far worse than them because your calling them names! I just find your website entertaining because YOU are worse than the person that made that darn picture up!! HEAK, YOU were probably the one that made the quote up on Betty’s picture so you could find something to gripe about! People like you make Facebook morons look like saints!!
Andy, your right, he has NO sense of humor and people like him are usually called bully’s! They only laugh when they make fun of others! You are also right, it doesn’t matter who really who said it! It’s funny!! This idiot can’t see past words on a picture!!
Oh yeah, you do sin!! This whole page is a sin, judging who put words on a pic, who laughed, and called them names because they posted it! Read your bible, dummy! Yeah, That’s a sin too!! I will ask for forgiveness for being so mean about this, and I hope you do too! I also hope you stop this non sense over a stupid picture. If Betty don’t like it, let her take care of it!! It’s NOT your place!!
IT”S NOT ABOUT BETTY, YOU MORON! It’s about fake quotes and the morons who share them. Remember what the Bible says, Mammie, “The Lord shall come down and rule in terror over the stupid and simple of mind. He shall use his almighy powers to set free the wisdom of the wise and to those who fail to read and comprehend properly.”
Agreed: it’s about fake quotes and the morons who mindlessly perpetuate them “because it’s funny.” The late George Carlin had choice words about all those e-mails containing rants he never wrote, but I can’t provide them because his website has been reorganized (by his daughter, presumably) and the link from Snopes doesn’t work anymore.
The question mark belongs outside the parenthesis – ‘Grow some balls’ is not the question. You might try growing a life…