The White Lotus Condemned By Duke For Using College Apparel In Violent Scene: It 'Simply Goes Too Far'
Duke University isn't exactly a fan of this season of The White Lotus.
The university took the unusual step of issuing a statement condemning the HBO show for a scene in which Timothy, played by Jason Isaacs, wears a Duke T-shirt while visualizing himself taking his own life.
"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," Duke's VP for communications, marketing, and public affairs Frank Tramble said in a statement to our sister site Deadline. "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."
Tramble made it clear that "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."
In Sunday's episode, Timothy — who is distraught because he faces federal fraud charges and could lose everything — contemplated suicide, daydreaming of shooting himself in the head while wearing a Duke T-shirt. (Timothy and his son Saxon attended Duke, while his wife Victoria and daughter Piper attended rival school the University of North Carolina.) Luckily, Timothy thought better of it and never went through with it, and the gun he had stolen from security guard Gaitok was secretly retaken by Gaitok later in the episode. (Read our full recap here.)