Delta Burke starred in the hit series ‘Designing Girls’ for five of its seven seasons, at the time alleging psychological abuse from current creator Linda Bloodworth-Thomason after “things started to change.”
Delta Burke was on top of the world in the late 1980s, winning two Emmys as part of the ensemble of the hit CBS sitcom Designing girlsBut things have been much darker behind the scenes, as the actress has struggled with creator Linda Bloodworth-Thomason, her weight, and demanding a lot of public scrutiny.
The actress, who has since stepped away from Hollywood, was one of the best-known women on television at the time of her departure from the long-running series in 1991 after its fifth season. She was also one of the most scrutinized, with tabloids hyperfocused for years on her weight.
Chatting on Glamorous Trash podcast with Chelsea Devantez, Burke admitted that she had been taking pills every day since she was in college to try to control her weight. But when her body began to resist, she took more drastic measures.
Getty
Oprah Winfrey says she was ‘ridiculed’ and shamed for years because of her weight
See story
Medicines and weight loss
“No one knew about meth at the time,” she said. She said she was advised to smell it, but didn’t want to do that, “so I put it in cranberry juice.”
The former Miss Florida said that after ingesting that fluff, she “didn’t eat for five days, and they were still saying, ‘Your butt is too big. Her legs are too big.’”
“And now I look back at these photos and say, ‘I was a goddamn goddess,’” Burke added. This was just before his landing Designing girlswhen she worked with Bloodworth-Thomason on her previous series, Rich Dirt.
Burke admitted she was “too emotionally fragile” to handle the nastiness that came from the press and public about her weight — she shared a story about a fan opening her coat and asking, “Let’s take a look, like fats, shall we?”
“I believed I used to be stronger. I tried really hard to defend myself from the lies and all the ugliness that was out there and I wasn’t going to win,” Burke shared. “I’m simply an actress, you know. I have no energy.”
Despite her efforts, the attack began to affect her work as well, with Burke admitting her “complete body language changed” as well as hunching over and trying to disappear. Fame was not at all what she had imagined.
“I thought it meant you were going to be a famous and respected actress, but that’s not what it meant,” she said. “And the second I became known, it was like, ‘Oh, no, no, no. That’s not what I had in mind. I assume I no longer wish to be that. But then it’s too late.”
Instagram
Insurgent Wilson reveals he used Ozempic throughout his weight loss journey
See story
Abuse versus acceptance
This scrutiny on Burke’s figure didn’t just come from fans or the press – although they were relentless in masking any fluctuations in his form – but also from home. That’s why she said she first fell so much in love with her longtime husband, Main Father It is These are U.S former student Gerald McRaney.
“Whatever happened, it was bad, it was worth it because I met him,” she said. “No one has ever loved me completely for me, not even my mother or grandmother. They could choose what I considered. He in no way did.
At the time of her departure from the show, Bloodworth-Thomason and her husband, and current executive producer, Harry Thomason, stated that McRaney was responsible. They argued that he had changed his star as soon as they started dating.
Burke’s counterargument at the time was that Bloodworth-Thomason was psychologically abusing her and relentlessly pressuring her about her weight. Now, though, she says she’s grateful she stayed as long as she did.
“I had to leave and I wasn’t allowed to leave,” she explained, expressing that she felt overwhelmed by the highlights. “Staying gave me tremendous character to play, grow old and gain weight. And I loved how it developed. I’ve had that, although it can be difficult at times.
As for the disagreement, Burke chose not to get into the dirt. Instead, she stated that although she felt “so comfortable” being part of Designing girls, “then things started to change.” These changes, “combined with the popularity, I just couldn’t handle.”
Regarding Bloodworth-Thomason, who Burke once considered a “mentor,” she has since put the “love-hate” outline into their relationship. “I’m so grateful for everything she’s done for me, but there are other issues,” Burke said. “Mostly we tried to kill each other, but you realize we survived.”
In fact, the pair would work together once again in Home Girlsa spin-off of Designing girls released in 1995 which saw her character moving into the world of politics. The series didn’t do much, however, being canceled before finishing its initial 13-episode order (Lifetime aired the final four episodes).
Instagram
Carnie Wilson tells how she lost 40 kilos – and it’s not Ozempic (only)
See story
Leaving Hollywood
Ultimately, Burke completely stepped away from his personal and Hollywood fame after juggling the demanding professional actor schedules with McRaney. Finally, she said, “It’s just done a lot for me.”
“It got really ugly. And unexpectedly, in the future, it was as if the pleasure of appearing left me”, she explained. “It was ruined by the ugliness that, unfortunately, accompanies many businesses. I just walked away from work because the fun wasn’t there anymore.”
Burke left Designing girls on top of the show’s success, simply because it was entering Nielsen’s Top 10 rankings. She starred as Suzanne Sugarbaker alongside Dixie Carter as her sister Julia, Jean Sensible as Charlene Frazier Stillfield and Annie Potts as Mary Jo Shively.
The show centered on women who work at a design agency in Atlanta, Georgia. Additionally, it starred Meshach Taylor as his delivery boy-turned-partner, Anthony Bouvier. Sensible animated alongside Burke after season 5, resulting in the addition of Julia Duffy as cousin Allison Sugarbaker and Jan Hooks as Charlene’s sister Carlene Frazier-Dobber. Duffy, in turn, would be replaced by Judith Ivey’s Bonnie Jean “BJ” Poteet in season 7.
The entire original cast, including Burke, reunited in 2003 for The Designing Girls reunion in particular, which returned to the innovative sequence.
Although her husband continues to work repeatedly and Burke herself performs occasionally, she says she feels comfortable where she is. “I like my life for the first time. And I love him desperately,” she said of her husband of 34 years.
“I know I am protected and I am loved. I didn’t really feel it there,” Burke said of his time at the top. “I really wanted to be, and I couldn’t be what I wanted to be, but I bought it to go there, and I bought it to be an actress, and I bought it to make people laugh, which I loved very much.”