‘The White Lotus’ star reveals why her storyline can be triggering
“The White Lotus” star Michelle Monaghan talks to Ralphie Aversa about how the female friendship story line is so relatable and toxic.
The newest season of “White Lotus” has fans obsessed.
Parker Posey’s over-the-top accent, a skin-crawling incest scene and a perfectly choreographed political conversation for the Trump era have enraptured viewers. But one subset has a bone to pick: Duke University administrators.
Frank Tramble, the university’s vice president for communications, said the sixth episode of the show had gone “too far” in it’s use of the college’s merch.
“Duke appreciates artistic expression and creative storytelling, but characters prominently wearing apparel bearing Duke’s federally registered trademarks creates confusion and mistakenly suggests an endorsement or affiliation where none exists,” Tramble said in a statement to USA TODAY Thursday.
HBO, which produces “White Lotus,” declined to comment.
During the latest episode of “White Lotus,” Tim Ratliff (Jason Isaacs), one of Season 3’s central characters and a fictional alum of the university, dons a Duke T-shirt as he considers a murder-suicide while on vacation with his family at the White Lotus hotel in Thailand. Duke, one of the major universities in North Carolina, where the drama series’ Ratliff family hails from, was less than pleased by the homage − especially given the context.
“‘The White Lotus’ not only uses our brand without permission, but in our view uses it on imagery that is troubling, does not reflect our values or who we are, and simply goes too far,” Tramble wrote in his statement, adding that suicide is the second-leading cause of death on college campuses.
“As imagery from the show is being shared widely across social media, we are using our brand to promote mental health awareness and remind people that help is available,” he continued.
Duke plays a prominent role in the season as a subplot sees the younger Ratliff son, Lochlan (Sam Nivola), struggling to decide between Duke and University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
Tim, the family patriarch, went to Duke as did Saxon, the older Ratliff brother played by Patrick Schwarzenegger. Mother Victoria, the breakout star of the season portrayed by Posey, went to Chapel Hill. The family’s only daughter Piper (of “Piper, no!”), played by Sarah Catherine Hook, is currently enrolled at Chapel Hill.
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