HOLLYWOOD, Calif. — Betty White's Facebook movement has paid off: the loveable star will host Saturday Night Live in May.
The 88-year-old actress will host a special Mother's Day episode on May 8 that will also reunite six former female SNL cast members, most of them moms: Tina Fey, Amy Poehler, Molly Shannon, Maya Rudolph, Ana Gasteyer and Rachel Dratch.
The show's creator-producer, Lorne Michaels, told USA Today that he was moved by the nearly half a million fans who petitioned for White's hosting gig via a Facebook campaign, which skyrocketed after her Super Bowl commercial for Snickers.
"It took on a groundswell," Michaels said of the fan movement. "It isn't something we would have said no to," but the campaign "validated that, 'Oh, that'd be fun.' ... It was the outpouring of affection from fans, and we feel the same way."
While White isn't a mother herself, Michaels explained: "She's the mother of us all in comedy."
The former Golden Girls star said she's turned down SNL three times in the past, but she's flattered by all the recent attention being paid to her. "It's lovely, and at my age it's certainly unexpected," White told the paper.
So will her age be a factor in the physical demands of the show?
"I've got so much energy, it's ridiculous," she said. "I love working. My schedule is a feverish one, and I'm used to that."
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