Good Advice From a Golden Girl: Betty White Is America’s Most Trusted Celebrity

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Actress Betty White visits "Late Night With Jimmy Fallon" on June 14, 2011 in New York City.

How could you not trust an adorable, bubbly octogenarian? Seriously, even if we saw her promoting the Shake Weight, we’d be reaching for our phones in droves.

Betty White, the beloved Golden Girl and the world’s favorite grandmotherly figure (Sorry, Grandma!), has been rated as America’s most trusted celebrity. A Reuters/Ipsos poll found that the 89-year-old star is the one we’d most want promoting our products.

Reuters found that 86% of Americans had a favorable opinion of White. She bested a host of Oscar-winning movie stars and even a royal duchess. (Kate Middleton was found “favorable” by only 79% of voters.) But the pollsters differentiated favor from trust in considering who we’d want promoting products and giving us advice.

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The top 5 most trusted celebs are:

  1. Betty White – 69% trusted
  2. Tom Hanks – 65% trusted
  3. Sandra Bullock – 60% trusted
  4. Morgan Freeman – 59% trusted
  5. Kate Middleton – 58% trusted

Reuters/Ipsos also found that 44% would buy a product if Betty White were endorsing it. Her ability to shill products was proven with her 2010 Super Bowl ad promoting Snickers, a commercial that saw her tackled and taunted and launched her to newfound fame. White will start speaking for other companies soon: appropriately, she recently signed on to be the AARP’s new spokeswoman.

(READ: Betty White Gets a Book Deal)

On the flip side, the poll also inquired about the least trusted celebrities. This required no rocket science: just look at the tabloids to see who is the most scandal-prone. Charlie Sheen hasn’t held a sponsorship contract (and thankfully so) since Hanes dropped him in January 2010 after his highly-publicized fight with ex-wife Brooke Mueller. And Tiger Woods was dropped by Tag Heuer, AT&T, Accenture and Gatorade – to name a few – after his infidelity became front-page news in 2009.

The 5 most “untrustworthy” celebrities are:

  1. Paris Hilton – 67% distrusted
  2. Charlie Sheen – 65% distrusted
  3. Britney Spears – 60% distrusted
  4. Tiger Woods – 57% distrusted
  5. (tie) Arnold Schwarzenegger and Kanye West – 55% distrusted

This research hardly surprises us. Truly we don’t see Betty White getting involved in a sex scandal, well, ever. You hear that, Home Shopping Network? It seems America has chosen your newest host.

Nick Carbone is a reporter at TIME. Find him on Twitter at @nickcarbone. You can also continue the discussion on TIME’s Facebook page and on Twitter at @TIME.

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