Frankly, you’d have to be living like a Buddhist in Thailand to be missing the onslaught of The White Lotus post-finale press tour. For the past week, the entire ensemble cast has made the rounds to discuss that not-so-shocking (if you ask me) season 3 finale—but only one member seems to savor setting the record straight (and teasing salacious gossip): Lucius Malfoy, himself.
For weeks, Jason Isaacs has repeatedly (rather cryptically) alluded to on-set tensions, likening production to “a cross between summer camp and Lord of the Flies but in a gilded cage.” Further, the actor claimed that bonds were built and then broken among some cast members. Naturally, the terminally online reached for their magnifying glasses. Could Isaacs have been referring to Aimee Lou Wood and Walton Goggins? The pair not only stopped following each other on Instagram, but they recently posted tributes to each other’s characters (in which neither is tagged) set to “Silver Springs.” Or, was Isaacs—who appears in very few off-set photos with his fellow cast mates—simply referring to his own issues on set? Lucky for us, I have a feeling we’ll find out soon because he keeps speaking on the record about it.
On Monday, speaking with the New York Times, Isaacs said the cast wasn’t “one great big homogenous happy family” and that the seven-month shoot was anything but a vacation, though he wouldn’t “break ranks and say who did what to who.” So, someone did something to somebody? That sounds more serious than a basic workplace misunderstanding. Apparently, Isaacs doesn’t just make a mean piña colada but a piping hot cup of tea, too. The next day, he continued edging us in another interview.
“Like anywhere you go for the summer, there’s friendships, there’s romances, there’s arguments, there’s cliques that form and break and reform and stuff like that,” he told The Happy Hour on SiriusXM’s TODAY Show Radio on Tuesday. “I’m careful. I’m not stupid. I look at the Internet. I only read every single word written about The White Lotus and about everybody in it.” Is he…the Gossip Girl of The White Lotus? Because Isaacs is so clued-in, he also said he’s well aware of the “amateur Sherlock Holmes” happenings where his former co-stars’ social media is concerned.
“Nobody has the slightest clue what they’re talking about,” he insisted. “People who think they’re onto something, and it then it gets magnified because of a thousand other people. Nobody has any clue.” Well, alright then. I have to assume if Isaacs stays on this press run (fingers crossed), he’ll eventually crack, right? Get me in a room with him and I’ll know every spat, sexcapade, and soul connection from that production.
This week, Isaacs also addressed Duke University getting offended that Isaacs’ Timothy Ratliff was wearing a Duke t-shirt while holding a gun to his temple and contemplating suicide. Should you have missed it, the university’s vice president of communications, marketing and public affairs issued a statement about the scene in March.
“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,” Frank Tramble wrote in an email to the NYT. “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.”
As for Isaacs’ response: “I found the whole thing faintly amusing, I don’t like anyone getting upset about anything, but clearly, it was just someone fancying seeing their name online and, in some department, wanting to go viral.” Ope! “Their real-life alumni are such a rogue’s gallery, many of them, that the notion that this rather spiritually enlightened character on television caused them any trouble is fanciful and ridiculous,” he continued. Next time I need to insult someone for any particular reason, I’ll be deploying the sick burn that is “fanciful and ridiculous.”
Anyway, I really appreciate that everything this man says sounds like it should be punctuated with: XOXO, Jason Isaacs.
- Justin Bieber has cut ties with his clothing brand. [Page Six]
- Kyle Richards confronted a woman who sources say was “acting aggressively” toward her two dogs on the sidewalk. Yes, there is footage. [Daily Mail]
- Armie Hammer‘s ex-wife, Elizabeth Chambers, has a new gig: hosting an Investigation Discovery series about “toxic” love. Curious that she’s the host as opposed to the subject, given everything she’s been through, no? [The Hollywood Reporter]
- The Santa Monica location of Erewhon reportedly has a roach infestation. Clearly, those guys don’t know how much rent costs…[People]
- Just in time for a set at Stagecoach, Lana Del Rey has dropped new music. [Variety]
- Who knew Alicia Keys was a Huskie?! [TMZ]
- Pedro Pascal got the Fantastic Four gig—in part—by buying lemonade from the director’s daughter. [Just Jared]
- Eric Dane has been diagnosed with ALS. [Us Weekly]
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