Sophia claims to have placed a curse on Shelley Long to have her leave the show Cheers. Marguerite later thanks Sophia for getting rid of Long, because she couldn't stand the character. In real life, Long's departure was met with much dismay from her Cheers co-stars as well as NBC, the same network that owned The Golden Girls. The joke was likely a knock at Long. Cheers did the same thing in its later seasons.