Has this Betty White fad finally jumped the shark? Will it ever?
—WBex, via the Answer B!tch inbox
She may appear unquashable at this point, but if you're sick of the Betty White mania, take heart: At least the Oscars seem to have as little respect for her as you do.
Despite a fan campaign pushing White as the next Oscars host, an Academy publicist has just released a statement indicating that the group's producers will still have the final say on who gets that gig.
However, if you're hoping that Betty White mania has faded completely—and, seriously, what kind of gnarled, coal-like heart have you got, anyway?!—you may not like what I have to say:
First of all, let's dissect exactly how this terrific, nearly 90-year-old comedic genius first came into resurgence.
You should know that White has never really faded from our purview since she first appeared on an experimental TV show right after graduating from high school. I won't detail every one of her major gigs—head to IMDb and bow down, fools—but will instead cut to later stuff.
For example, even though Golden Girls went off the air in 1992, the classic sitcom has remained alive in reruns on no less than three networks ever since.
So how did White "reemerge"? Here we go.
It started not, as many less knowledgeable people have tried to tell me, with that superfunny Super Bowl commercial for Snickers. No, it actually started earlier, TV historian Wesley Hyatt explains.
"The Proposal came out in June of last year," Hyatt points out, adding that many people thought White stole that movie right out from under costar Sandra Bullock. That appearance, Hyatt notes, was followed by the September announcement that the Screen Actors Guild would offer White a lifetime achievement award at the next SAG Awards.
When the Awards finally came around in January, White, as they say in the biz, "killed."
("Isn't it heartening," she joked about Bullock, "to see how far a girl as plain as she is can go?")
Audiences, including the all important 18-35 demographic, marveled at White's sharp comedic timing and genuinely joyful persona at a time when such sunniness was sorely needed.
The Super Bowl Snickers ad and the successful Facebook campaign to have White host SNL only fueled the actress's already hot streak, Hyatt says.
So, you ask, is it over yet? Nope.
For one, there's yet another campaign going to have White host, or cohost, the Emmys. That slot is already taken by Jimmy Fallon, but Hyatt is convinced that the TV folks will probably nominate White for her SNL appearance. That, of course, will mean still more Betty White appearances. And it doesn't end there; lest we forget, White has signed on for the upcoming sitcom, Hot in Cleveland.
So tell me, what else are you sick of: Kittens, perhaps?