TV Thank you for being a flirt: NBC pays tribute to Betty White and her impeccable game On Celebrating Betty White: America's Golden Girl, Tracy Morgan, Jay Leno, Anthony Mackie, and others recall how White kept it Hot in Cleveland — and everywhere else. By Lester Fabian Brathwaite Lester Fabian Brathwaite Lester Fabian Brathwaite is a staff writer at Entertainment Weekly, where he covers breaking news, all things Real Housewives, and a rich cornucopia of popular culture. Formerly a senior editor at Out magazine, his work has appeared on NewNowNext, Queerty, Rolling Stone, and The New Yorker. He was also the first author signed to Phoebe Robinson's Tiny Reparations imprint. He met Oprah once. EW's editorial guidelines Published on February 1, 2022 12:27AM EST On NBC's Celebrating Betty White: America's Golden Girl, the stars lined up to pay tribute to the late, great "first lady of television." While everyone from Cher to President Joe Biden had their own reasons for loving her, nearly all of them could agree on one fact: Betty could mack. Betty White. Gary Gershoff/WireImage White had so much game, there's an entire segment of the special dedicated to White's flirty but always endearing behavior. On a clip from Conan shown during the special, White admits to Conan O'Brien that flirting can get you in trouble sometimes — only to immediately set an amorous gaze on co-host Andy Richter. On that same Conan appearance, White turns her attention from Richter to Jason Momoa, after Aquaman's Men's Health cover elicits a "whoa" from her. "Are you okay, Betty?" Conan asks. "I'm getting better," she responds, crossing her leg and clutching her pearls. Anthony Mackie, however, got a bit more than some coy innuendo when he saw White at a party and ran over to meet her. "I said, 'Hello, I'm such a big fan, my name is Anthony Mackie.' And she says, 'Oh, you're so beautiful, I wish I was 40 years younger,' " Mackie says. "The thing is, she gently touched my face so softly, like a butterfly whispering in the wind. And when she spoke to me she made sure nobody else could hear. And I'm like, 'Yo, I think she's hitting on me, dog!' " "She loved to flirt with men," says Jay Leno. "She loved that." And men loved to flirt back, especially Tracy Morgan, who doth protest all this flirt talk because, he claims, "that was my girlfriend!" "Betty White got me! That was my wo-man!" Morgan jokes. "She had a serious flirtation side. And I loved it." He adds, "When we did a photoshoot she kissed me. That's the only one I got and she kissed me. And she said 'I love you.' I said, 'I love you, too, Miss White.' " White died peacefully at home on Dec. 31, 2021, just a few weeks shy on her 100th birthday. She was remembered by several of her costars, including Ryan Reynolds — who had a long running joke with White about how he just can't get over his "former girlfriend." When news of the Golden Girl broke, Reynolds joined in remembering the icon and tweeted, "The world looks different now." "Betty White was an American treasure, an icon, and a pioneer," noted President Biden in the special. "And she challenged conventions. With every laugh and smile she opened our hearts. But above all she moved our souls and the soul of our nation. What a gift we'll always treasure. God bless you, Betty. We all love you." Celebrating Betty White will be available to stream on Peacock starting Feb. 1. Sign up for Entertainment Weekly's free daily newsletter to get breaking TV news, exclusive first looks, recaps, reviews, interviews with your favorite stars, and more. Related content: A delightfully catty Betty White and Joan Rivers interview from 1983 goes viral How Betty White ended up in Joel McHale's family Christmas card See Cher perform a special version of the Golden Girls theme song in honor of Betty White