Jason Isaacs Is the Gossip Girl of ‘The White Lotus’

“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]