Betty White's longtime assistant speaks out, shares 'best way to honor' the late TV icon
The 'Mary Tyler Moore Show' star would have turned 100 on Jan. 17
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Betty White’s longtime assistant is speaking out in the wake of the Hollywood legend’s death on Friday at age 99 – and issued a poignant message about how the late actress and "Golden Girl" should be honored in her absence.
"I’ve been reading a lot of the media coverage, and people seem really fixated on speculating about the way Betty died," White’s assistant Kiersten Mikelas began in a statement to Fox News Digital on Tuesday.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}"Wouldn’t it be wonderful if people put that much time into focusing on how she LIVED and, moreover incorporating a little of her philosophy into their OWN lives???," Mikelas opined.
BETTY WHITE ‘KNEW’ SHE WAS BELOVED BY FANS, AGENT SAYS: ‘I TOLD HER OFTEN’
"Be kind. Be kind to another person, to another animal, to the planet," Mikelas pressed in the memorandum. "THAT is the BEST way to honor Betty White. Certainly, the legacy of a life well-lived is worth more attention than the moments before that life ended."
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}In a statement to People magazine, the late star's agent and close friend Jeff Witjas said: "Betty died peacefully in her sleep at her home. People are saying her death was related to getting a booster shot three days earlier, but that is not true.
BETTY WHITE'S 'CRUSH' ROBERT REDFORD HONORS LATE ACTRESS FOLLOWING HER DEATH AT AGE 99
"She died of natural causes. Her death should not be politicized – that is not the life she lived," Witjas said.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}The star would have turned 100 on Jan. 17.
After a further inquiry into the aura White illuminated away from the limelight, Mikelas added, "She was everything you’d hope… and more."