VIDEO: Oops! Charlotte Rae Learns The Facts Of (Gay) Life At TV Land Awards

by RadarOnline.com Staff

It was a wonderful evening of nostalgia at Sunday night's TV Land Awards, as shows like Welcome Back Kotter, The Cosby Show, Family Ties and The Facts Of Life were honored.

Perhaps the night's most memorable moment unwittingly belonged to 84-year-old Charlotte Rae, The Facts Of Life star who played Mrs. Garrett on the 80s sitcom.

In a speech accepting the show's honors, Rae said, "I tell you, I'm so proud of my girls. They all turned out to be straight! Straight!"  -- ironic, as one of the cast members, Geri Jewell, is openly-gay.

Later, Meredith Baxter jokingly played off Rae's innocent line while accepting an award with the Family Ties cast, as the openly-gay actress kidded , "We didn't come out as straight as the Facts Of Life cast, but we're doing pretty well!"

Watch the video on RadarOnline

Rae later told Good Morning America she "was thinking of a tree that grew up straight into the sky" in her speech, not sexuality. Rae, who also worked on Diff'rent Strokes, saw that show's young cast struggle with the trappings of fame, as Dana Plato and Gary Coleman died young, while Todd Bridges' past problems have stalled his acting career.