Photo: Instagram
Please let her be immortal.
By Rebecca Jane Stokes — Written on Aug 02, 2018
Is Betty White dead? We live in a deeply-divided nation — just look at the state of politics today if you have any doubt! If you want to have a disagreement with someone, all you have to do is go onto Facebook or Twitter and share your opinion. Give it five minutes and no doubt you'll have at least one response from a friend or stranger who is ready, willing, and able to tell you why you're totally wrong. Lots of fun, right?
Nowadays, it's as if no one can agree on anything, even the simple stuff. Thankfully, there's one thing that unites every man woman and child in the great US of A, and that's Betty White. Whether you first saw Betty on the big screen in some of her movie appearances, or you're a Golden Girls fan from back in the day, there's no way you can be a human with a pulse and not adore Betty White. Heck, even the younger generation knows Betty from some of the viral TV appearances she had made over the past decade. She's as close to a living National Treasure as we'll ever find; just don't tell Nic Cage that!
That's why the world seemed to stand still when Betty's name made headlines today. That's right, her name seemed to be on the tip of everyone's tongue, with everyone thinking exactly the same thing: Please don't let Betty White be dead! Sure, she may be 96 years young, but that doesn't mean that any of her dearly-devoted fans are ready to see her shuffle off her mortal coil just yet. So what exactly happened to Betty; why was she in the news? Is she still living and breathing? Don't worry, dudes and dudettes, I've got you covered.
1. She started trending on Twitter
It all started, as most dramatic news items seem to these days, on Twitter.
Users of the popular social media site were in for a shock when they arrived on the page to discover that Betty White was a trending topic.
Usually, being a trending topic on Twitter and being a prominent figure or celebrity means one thing and one thing only: you've died, or best case scenario, you've been arrested.
Immediately people who spotted her name began to panic, terrified that Betty White was no more. In fact, some people were so shocked and saddened just by seeing her name in the trending topics category that they were too scared to even click the link!
2. Her PBS special
But if those nervous fans and other denizens of Twitter had actually clicked on Betty White's name in the trending topics category their poor savaged nerves would have been almost instantly dissuaded.
Betty White is absolutely still alive, and what's more, the reason that she's trending is because she's still actively working, and doesn't seem to show any signs of slowing down any time soon.
She was trending because PBS was tweeting about their new documentary celebrating the star, Betty White: First Lady of Television.
Steven J. Boettcher, one of the film's directors shared that we don't need to worry about her retiring, either. “She told me, ‘I’m going to be in the saddle forever.’”
3. The fans respond
Needless to say her fans were deeply relieved to hear that their beloved Betty is still alive and kicking like crazy!
But of course, when you're a national treasure and rumors of your death plague the internet, the internet is going to do what it's done since time immemorial: make hilarious jokes and memes about that one time everyone thought you were dead.
If her good genes, good spirits, and tremendous luck aren't enough to get her to the ripe old age of 100, maybe the jokes from her fans will!
4. Betty's health today
According to reports, Betty is doing really well. In fact, she's as fit as a fiddle.
What does she credit as the secret to her good health? Her positive attitude! She told Parade Magazine, “I know it sounds corny, but I try to see the funny side and the upside, not the downside I get bored with people who complain about this or that. It’s such a waste of time.”
When asked if she keeps to a special diet to stay healthy for all of her work as a nonagenarian in show business, she says absolutely not! In fact, her favorite foods are hot dogs and vodka!
You heard it here first folks, turns out vodka and weiners are the way to go if you want to live forever.
Sign me up for the Betty White diet!
Rebecca Jane Stokes is a writer living in Brooklyn, New York with her cat, Batman. She hosts the love and dating advice show, Becca After Dark, on YourTango's Facebook Page every Tuesday and Thursday at 10:15 pm Eastern. For more of her work, check out her Tumblr.