While Jason Isaacs’ tumultuous trip to The White Lotus might be in the rearview mirror, he still had some choice words for his character’s alma mater.
Isaacs, 61, played Timothy Ratliff on season 3 of the HBO drama, which saw the disgraced father of three frequently wearing a t-shirt repping Duke University. One particular scene saw Isaacs raise a gun to his head while wearing the shirt, which instantly became a meme on social media.
While the Internet had a field day, the school issued a statement saying Duke’s representation on the show caused unnecessary “confusion.”
“I found the whole thing faintly amusing,” Isaacs said on the Tuesday, April 8, episode of the “Prestige Junkie” podcast. “I don’t like anyone getting upset about anything, but clearly it was just someone fancy seeing their name and in some department wanting to go viral.”
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Isaacs continued, “Their real-life alumni are such a rogue’s gallery, many of them. The notion that this rather spiritually-enlightened character on television caused them any trouble is fanciful and ridiculous.”
The actor explained he actually had a connection to the Carolinas — Duke is located in Durham, North Carolina — dating back to filming of the 2000 movie The Patriot, which was shot on location in South Carolina. Isaacs played Colonel William Tavington in the film, which starred Mel Gibson as Colonel Benjamin Martin.
Jason Isaacs in ‘The White Lotus.’ HBO
“I was just over the border in South Carolina,” Isaacs explained. “We were in Rock Hill. I went to Charlotte quite often. I went to North Carolina. I’m an explorer. At the time, I was playing a lot of golf. So I went to a lot of golf clubs and I met an awful lot of Ratliffs.”
Charlotte, as luck would have it, played a role in Isaacs’ wardrobe choice at a screening of The White Lotus season finale on Sunday, April 6.
Isaacs showed up to the event wearing a shirt emblazoned with Duke’s Blue Devils’ logo, which he had recently purchased while being stuck at the Charlotte airport.
“I bought the t-shirt because the airline canceled my flight and took my bags away and I had nothing to change into,” he said. “It was the only outlet there.”
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Isaacs explained that he didn’t even realize it was a Duke University shirt, but once he found out he couldn’t resist. “I also thought it might cause a bit of mischief,” he said.
Duke University issued a statement pushing back against the school’s name and likeness in The White Lotus last month.
“Duke appreciates artistic expression and creative storytelling,” Duke’s vice president for communications, marketing and public affairs, Frank Tramble, told The New York Times on March 26. “But characters prominently wearing apparel bearing Duke’s federally registered trademarks creates confusion and mistakenly suggests an endorsement or affiliation where none exists.”
Tramble further argued that 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.”
