News of Betty White passing at the age 99 on Friday, December 31, has left many of the actor’s fans and friends in the industry heartbroken.
The internet was flooded with tributes sharing their fondest memories of the beloved star in her seven-decade career. Among those posts was a tweet that resurfaced footage of White’s guesting at “The Tonight Show.”
In that particular 1983 episode, Joan Rivers filled in as a guest host for Johnny Carson and had White on as a guest.
The two-minute clip of their exchange made rounds on social media for its pure hilarity, as the pair of comedians effortlessly threw roasts at one another, their witty comebacks funnier than the next.
White didn’t spare a second and immediately began to poke fun at a magazine cover that featured Rivers as soon as she sat down.
“You would think you were the only cover girl in town. Did you know that I’m a cover girl?” she told the host.
“I’m surprised, but probably yes,” Rivers replied. But before she could finish her sentence, White pulled out a magazine cover, which showed her posing next to a big fluffy dog. The “Golden Girls” actor quickly came up with another joke.
“And if you dare say, ‘Who’s that other b—h on the cover?’ I will never speak to you again for as long as I live,” White said before clarifying that she’s the one in the pink jacket.
On the other hand, Rivers got into “Fashion Police” mode and ridiculed the purple outfit that White had chosen to wear that night. After tossing White’s magazine cover behind her, she told the star: “I asked you to come on tonight and look glamorous and look what you showed up in.”
White responded, “I like to think understated is a lot classier than all this other stuff hanging out all over, well it’s just ridiculous. The little tassels on everything… can you get them all going in opposite directions?”
The poster of the video on Twitter wrote in the caption, “You don’t get banter like this on many talk shows anymore.”
Many of those who have seen the video thoroughly enjoyed it. It brought back memories of when the two legends were still gracing our TV screens.
“I miss them both. God, Betty’s getting greeted up there by some real greats,” commented one.
“Joan and Betty just effortlessly throwing shade at each other is so wonderful,” said another.
The footage shared on Twitter only showed two minutes of their conversation, but the original interview actually lasted nearly 10 minutes.
The late comedic duo (Rivers died at age 81 in September 2014) remained high-spirited throughout their entire conversation and cracked joke after joke, making sure to keep things entertaining.
For example, right after talking about their experience as magazine cover girls, they moved on to the topic of dating, where Rivers told White, “Oh, I bet you’d be funny on a date if you ever had one.”
The two women discussed their dating lives and what qualities they were looking for in men, as well as a hilarious story about a lunch White had with Doris Day, her love for animals, and her 1983 book, “Betty White’s Pet-love: How Pets Take Care of Us.”
Since White’s death, the beloved star has been honored across social media and real life. Fans decorated her Hollywood Walk of Fame star. On January 1, “Saturday Night live” re-aired her episode from 2010 to honor her memory.
Celebrities she had worked with, including Steve Martin, Ryan Reynolds, and Sandra Bullock, also remembered White on social media with their own heartfelt tributes to the late actor.
Watch Rivers and White’s hysterical banter in the video below.