Betty White Died of ‘Natural Causes’, Per Spokesperson: ‘Peacefully in Her Sleep’

 
Betty White

Joe Scarnici/Getty Images

The spokesperson for the late actress Betty White, who died on Dec. 31, said on Monday that “she died of natural causes.”

“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,” her agent, Jeff Witjas, told PEOPLE. “She died of natural causes. Her death should not be politicized — that is not the life she lived.”

A Dec. 28 quote falsely attributed to White – “Eat healthy and get all your vaccines. I just got boosted today” – circulated on social media. Witjas told the Associated Press that White never said that and did not get a booster on Dec. 28. Witjas didn’t say whether White got a booster.

White would have turned 100 on Jan. 17.

“I truly never thought she was going to pass away,” Witjas told the Associated Press. “She meant the world to me as a friend. She was the most positive person I’ve ever known.”

Tributes, including from President Joe Biden and First Lady Jill Biden, poured in followed White’s death.

White starred in hit TV shows including The Golden Girls and The Mary Tyler Moore Show. She hosted Saturday Night Live in 2010. That episode will be re-aired on Saturday in the usual SNL time slot of 11:30 p.m. ET on NBC.

Tags: