“America has spoken, and they’ve said ‘thank you for being a friend’ to Golden Girl Betty White by selecting her as a celebrity they would want to sit down with over a beer,” Jim McGreevy, president and CEO of the Beer Institute, said in an announcement on Wednesday.
The Beer Institute (BI), a national trade association for the brewing industry, conducted a nationwide survey to find out which American celebrity U.S. citizens would most like to drink a beer with. The survey was conducted in honor of honor of National Beer Day on April 7.
Betty White, American actress, comedian, and all around amazing human, beat out Bill Gates, Denzel Washington, Oprah Winfrey, and Lady Gaga as the top pick of a dozen celebrities, plus an “other” section, Food & Wine reports.
“Beer brings people together, and on this National Beer Day we toast Betty White, who has entertained multiple generations of Americans with her impeccable comedic timing and enduring charm,” McGreevy said.
The survey was conducted online from March 25, 2019 to March 29, 2019, and received 1,159 responses from adults 21 and over.
National Beer Day on April 7 commemorates President Franklin Roosevelt legalizing beer on that day in 1933, before the 21st Amendment was ratified.
White has the longest television career of any female entertainer. The 97-year-old actress has been on the air for 80 years, spanning sitcom The Golden Girls, multiple films, and countless TV appearances, including Late Night With Jimmy Fallon, where she played beer pong on multiple occasions.
(She lost both games, but won our hearts.)