Suzanne Endures Cruel Jokes About Her Weight | Designing Women 

This was to address Delta Burke's real life weight gain so they wrote it into Suzanne's storyline. The media was so cruel to Delta, little did they know that she was trying to kick an addiction to diet pills and was finally getting treatment for her depression with antidepressants both of which contributed to her weight gain. The funny thing is even though she did put on some weight during seasons 3 and 4 of Designing Women she really wasn't all that big. Especially by today's standards. Slim or not Delta was always a very beautiful woman, one of the most beautiful to ever appear on TV.

I'm almost forty, and I still remember being a kid in the 1980s and seeing the tabloids and how mean they were to Delta Burke because of her weight. You would have thought she was a murderer.

she wasnt even ''fat'' here at all little curvy but not fat.

Delta is such a Beauty. Weight is difficult, will never understand why people are so cruel. She is a total beauty.

I am a full figured woman and the first swimsuit I ever bought was from Her clothing line and I loved it

She wasn’t fat. She had a curvy shape. She was a beautiful person.

She looked her best here. This is what was considered fat 30 years ago. Lmao!

I wish this video would have contained Suzanne's speech at the end of this episode. It is one of my favorite, if not my absolute favorite, moments of the series.

Suzanne is BEAUTIFUL!!! And that purple nightgown thing she had on was GORGEOUS on her! She looks like Elizabeth Taylor-such a beauty. I wanted to tell off all of those fat shaming jerks. They dealt with this even in the 80s.

Compared to Julia and Mary Jo, Suzanne was curvy even at her slenderest. Nor was Charlene ever thin, but I think her height and high heels elongated her body so we didn't take notice. All four were elegant, well-dressed, attractive women whose genetics determined a lot of their physical attributes. This episode put the topic of fat-shaming front and center, maybe for the first time in a sitcom. It got a lot of attention at the time and continues to resonate with viewers.

I love that she not only talks about physical but social appearances, a true reality check for a lot of people

You could always count on Dixie to set you straight!! Skinny or not so skinny Delta is still a beautiful woman..

"People are gonna forget you 10 minutes after you die" hits home so much more now that I'm at an age where losing friends and family members has become a lot more common.

Julia was right. Some people are only skinny because they don't eat or they barely eat, and that isn't good for nobody.

dixie carter what a underappreciated actress she deserved an emmy several times over. This was an exqusite epidsode addrressing what it is like to struggle with weight and how you are treated because of it!

I want to remind people this speech by Suzanne is the invisible pain of "fat shaming" . They even dealt with this in the 80s.

She will always be one of the most beautiful women in America in my book..

So much truth in this. All the crap people do for appearances and it doesn’t matter. How we treat one another...THAT matters!!

Looking back, I can't believe she was made fun of her weight. The media acted like she was huge.

God, this is so heartbreaking.

Like the Golden Girls, Designing Women touched on a lot of serious topics and situations and those were some of the best episodes.

I loved their on screen and off screen relationship..

Suzanne is beautiful. Unbelievable how cruel and petty people are. It's only gotten worse. Far worse.

Suzanne and Julia frequently bickered and made fun of one-another, but each was there for the other when it truly mattered.

This is one of the MOST epic scenes ever..... "People are gonna forget about you about 10 minutes after you die!" Holy CRAP!!

I wish that Suzanne had not left the show! Her size didn’t matter, Delta Burke is amazing playing this part!

Now that I am older this hurts to watch. knowing she was treated this way in real life by the show makes me sick. I was a child but I remember even kids know right from wrong !!

This was mine and my mama's fav show in the 80's. I was 16 when this episode aired. It broke my heark because you could see Delta wasn't just acting, it was her story. ❤

Absolutely love Julia’s words of wisdom, especially in this clip. ❤️

Powerful episode. Media was an ass to delta and very unfriendly about her weight gain which was greatly exaggerated. It was an episode of her thumbing her nose at the world.

Even before Delta's "weight gain" I'm watching an episode right now where they are using all types of devices to hide her body. Either she's behind the mini-bar at the business, or she's seated with a pillow on her lap, or she's carrying a book in front of her, or on the sofa with a shawl over her. At the same time, Jean Smart is approximately the same size, yet no effort is made to cloak her body.

"In the end, it doesn't matter what anyone thinks about you. People are gonna forget you about 10 minutes after you die. The point is that you have to be exactly who and what you want to be. Most everybody is coasting along on phony public relations. People who say being beautiful, or rich or thin makes them happy. People who are trying to make their marriages or their children seem better than they actually are. And for what? Appearances? Appearances don't count for diddly! When its all said and done, all that counts, is what was true and truly felt and how we treated one another. And that's it!" Great advice, maybe even more so today than ever!

Suzanne was my favorite. I never liked how her weight became fodder for some of her storylines. I even thought the character Julia could be a little rough on her at times.

the biggest mistake the Thomason's made was to not resolve the issues with Delta Burke and let her go from this show. SHE was the best thing about the show and in these scenes, she really showed her acting chops. It did not matter that she had gained some weight from season to season. She was still beautiful, and so funny. I still feel that if they had worked things out with Delta, that Jean Smart would have stayed on too. They basically torpedoed the show when they let Delta go. That season with Julia Duffy was just painful. It was not her fault since they wrote the character to be so unlikeable, and she was just not Delta.

It sickens me that a show that she helped to make such a success, turned on her like starving jackals. They all approved of making her the laughing stock, for what?? Her dress size? This was the beginning of the end of her friendship with Dixie Carter and Annie Potts. They never once asked if she was OK. She told them she didn't like this story line but they went forward with it. Humiliating her publicly. Fat shaming is still acceptable bullying. No one ever says you shouldn't say it or do it. Just make fun of the fat person. It's cruel. Delta Burke was beautiful then and she's beautiful now. Dixie Carter should have been ashamed for how she attacked her "best friend". That's how Delta thought of Dixie. Turns out Jean Smart and Meshach Taylor were her friends.

Crazy. Bigger, curvy and hot were not compatible back then

She's not even that damn big! You're telling me THAT was too big for them???

Fat, slim or curvey didn't matter Delta is a beautiful lady in my eyes Bless Delta x ♡

Poor Suzanne. But you know what? Even if her figure has changed, she is still a gorgeous woman

Delta Burke has always been so beautiful to me!! Just stunning!!

This was and will always be a great clip of a wonderfully written show performed by fantastic actors. It's a gift 💗

This dialogue is still very relevant now. Ppl place alot of importance on size and they are cruel and they fat shame all the time and I hate that. If anyone fat shames me and even if they are my best friend for years I will severe all ties with that person and never say the reason they will just never see me again. Ever. They will never be able to come back from that no matter how much they apologise.

The stylist on this show did Delta dirty.

I Was Born In 81’ I Had A Big Crush 😍 On Delta Since My Earlier Childhood Years Through My Teen Years And Adult Hood. I Used To Watch This Show All Of The Time Back In The 80’s They Don’t Make Good Shows Like This Anymore TAKE ME BACK TO THE 80’s PLEASEEEEEE!! 🤧

This was such a powerful episode. I'm so glad it was made. Poor Suzanne and poor Delta.

This was such a good show full of truth, wisdom and keen insight. 📺 There'll never be another show quite like it.

I never thought Suzanne was fat. Some of the billowy clothes she wore made her look thick around the waist, but she simply never looked fat. And she wasn't dumb. She did alot of work for their business.

My husband has always said that Delta Burke was one of the most beautiful women alive. I never really thought she was all that "big", myself. Or if she was , she carried it very well.

I've always thought she was perfection. She floats.

She isn't fat at all. People can be so critical towards other's. Since childhood I was always criticized. No matter what I said or did or how I looked, I was always someone main focus just to be bullied. This happened in school with the kids, it happened at home with the step parants, & it happened even with people I never knew. To be honest im 60 years old now and I still see people giving me critical looks and laughter. No I'm not imagining it. I see it with my own eye's. And for everyone else who is facing this kind of behavior, I'm so sorry that you do. But just know their typical behavior says a lot about them & their the ones who need mental help, not you.

Delta Burke is always beautiful! ❤️

Dang! She's not even that big by 2022 standards and she looks beautiful,,,,half those people making fun of her are not very slender themselves,,,, this is soo weird!

This video leaves out the heartfelt speech she gave at the end of the episode.

I used to be skinny when I was younger. My nickname was olive oil when I was younger. Lol. Now I weigh a little over two hundred pounds. I like having weight on me. I don't want to be real skinny. I want to eat healthier, and I need to workout more. But even then I don't want to be a toothpick.

Delta Burke was always pretty to me too.

People are very, very cruel. It is natural and common for ALL people to gain at least some weight as they get older. Metabolism slows down; growth hormone decreases, sugar isn't metabolized as well anymore, arthritis or other illnesses make it difficult to exercise, etc. Besides I believe that the human body puts on weight as a person ages as a method of making certain the body has stores of energy to draw from when a person does get ill with age. All my life, I have seen very thin people get an illness with age and because they have no fat reserves at all, they go down very, very quickly. If a person has some stored fat, the body can pull from that to maintain essential functions and believe me, it will. People can lose a lot of weight in the hospital during a lengthy illness and if they have no fat to begin with, the body shuts down. It is a lie that the medical industry and the fashion industry is largely responsible for pushing. It is NOT healthier to be thin, especially as a person ages.

Susanne also doesn't look that flattering in that outfit, especially when everyone else is wearing more tight clothes. she's gorgeous just wearing the wrong shape for her body . But she's right- it's still 2022 and people are still judgemental about weight and looks. The message in this episode still stands .

This is cruel! I remember hearing the producers were very meticulous about weight and looks! Julia's advice was very heartwarming!🙂

She looks 100 times more beautiful than the others, I can't understand!

Suzanne always looked good to me! The finest of the four women. I hate white beauty standards. Where I come from she's not even considered fat but "thick" 😛

DB really wasn't that overweight at this point; bear in mind she was never a thin girl. I just think there was something very cruel about this entire storyline!

Delta Burke has an endomorph body type and it hasn't been until recently that the media has been inclusive of all three of the main most common body types- these were the dark ages. They used to force expectations of the lean and thin appearance of an ectomorph and mezomorph then expect an endomorph to adhere to this impossible standard. Endomorphs naturally have bigger frames and slower metabolisms, it's genetic.

Weight or not, she was still the most beautiful woman in that room. I mean god forbid a person gains some weight. It's called life. It happens to a lot of human beings 🙄

The criminal aspect was someone who was/is as beautiful as Delta Burke, was considered fat? That speaks volumes about American society.

Every one is different but she a lovely person

This is such a treasure for all women out there. Should be required viewing....

And even today she is still married to Gerald Raney for 33 years

I'm loving these little snippets from old shows! For this one, I was sure it was going to end with Julia's big dramatic speech, ending in something like "And that's when lights when out in Georgia!!" Must have been another episode. :)

Such A beautiful woman and a funny actress. She was an icon before her time. Now, no one would say anything. so sad. I loved her!!!❤

That ending gave me goosebumps.

I don't even think she's 'fat' here. Heavier than when the show started is the most I can see.

My opinion Suzanne is a babe in the series

I think during this time, Jean Smart was pregnant in real life (as was Charlene on the show) & except for some brief one-scene appearances in a few episodes (Julia & Suzanne's Big Adventure, Manhunt & You Got To Have Friends), she was probably taking some time off to prepare for her baby's birth. But it was almost like the writers made it seem like Julia allowed Charlene to step back from work at Sugarbaker's as she neared her due date (Charlene would often appear to work half-days before leaving early for an appointment or stopping in on an off-day before going to one). Jean/Charlene was absent altogether from this episode, perhaps because it fell around Jean's delivery date. You Got To Have Friends comes after this, so was probably taped earlier & saved for a later airing. She was back for the 1-hour New Year's Day episode First Day Of The Last Decade Of The Twentieth Century (where Charlene gives birth to Olivia; had to feel interesting to act pregnant again after she had already done it in real life). She probably had had plenty of time for maternity leave & was able to come back full-time. I say that because this episode would have been interesting to have had some character input from Charlene on the whole weight-gain issue, especially as she was doing so for pregnancy. As well, Charlene could have even offered some advice (in her unique way) to Suzanne about the insults she received. Just an interesting "What if?" proposition.

I guess for the 80s she was big in today’s society she would have been perfection

Thanks Ms. Sugarbaker, I needed to hear that today.

Its amazing how people never mature the older they get the worse they get

I would love to be that "fat." She's a gorgeous woman.

She was more beautiful than most could dream to be. That's why she was so reviled when her weight changed. People are envious morons.

I remember when this came out. The thing is no matter how big Delta Burke got, she was still one of the most beautiful women I had seen.

This was a great video, both gals were fantastic.

What’s crazy is Delta is HOT in this clip. I always thought she was SO beautiful. Sadly, in real life she didn’t believe what Julia said about her face always being perfect. She has had some awful plastic surgery that makes her look like a totally different person. Praying she can find peace about her self image.

I forgot how remarkable this show truly was.

Good God, looking at this and the wonderful message it put out there, you still think to yourself, "This is what they called fat then???"

I rememeber being conflicted about this episode. Yes, I loved Suzanne and it was sad to see her hurt that way, but while she was thin, she regularly mocked women who weren't on her level of beauty, including Mary Jo, who who was less glamorous, but definitely as beautiful. Suzanne got a small taste of her own medicine. This episode wanted us to forget that.

She’d have to gain a whole lotta weight to be fat in 2020. Note My 600# Life🤨

I feel her. I cried

Don’t go to your class reunion. That part of your life is over.

Well said Julia, well said.

She was beautiful and naturally curvy they were jealous

Delta Burke was so beautiful. It’s so sad how we treat people.

This made me cry. Bless her heart.

RU-vid - this showed up in the home page for me today. Thank you, I needed to see this!!

Even when Liz Taylor was still overweight, she was gorgeous. Delta too.

Delta Burke made the wrong choices. Most Americans do. She was always dieting instead of just living a healthy lifestyle.

She was still the prettiest women in the room.

All four of those women were beautiful and classy.

Even in the 80s, I thought it was weird that they were acting like she was so fat. She wasn't rail thin but she still had a cute body.

U are a beautiful woman don't let people degrade and discourage you.

They called that "big" then or now? really? Delta was beautiful no matter what and of course talented, still is....

That was a good speech, true your are forgotten, come judgement day the only one who will remember YOU is mine and your Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. God bless and love to all.