Jason Isaacs appeared to subtly take a dig at Duke University at the recent White Lotus season three finale event by showing up in the school’s apparel.
The British actor’s fashion choice comes after the private institution issued a complaint about the show’s use of its branding.
After the fifth episode of Max’s hit show, which featured Isaac’s Timothy Ratliff wearing a Duke t-shirt while contemplating suicide, the North Carolina-based school slammed the series for “simply [going] too far.”
University spokesperson Frank Tramble told Bloomberg the series “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.”
“Suicide is the second-leading cause of death on college campuses,” he added. “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.”
That didn’t stop the 61-year-old actor from arriving at Sunday’s event in Westlake, California, donning a blue t-shirt emblazoned with Duke’s Blue Devil mascot underneath a grey suit blazer.
Isaacs was pictured shrugging and smiling with the university’s emblem on clear display at the event.
“I found the whole thing faintly amusing,” the Harry Potter actor told The Ankler’s Katey Rich on the latest episode of the Prestige Junkie podcast about the whole ordeal.
“I don't like anyone getting upset about anything, but clearly it was just someone fancy seeing their name online and in some department wanting to go viral. Their real life alumni are such a rogues gallery, many of them,” Isaacs added. “The notion that this rather spiritually enlightened character on television caused them any trouble is fanciful and ridiculous.”
The Independent has contacted Duke University for comment.
Isaacs’s co-stars Aimee Lou Wood, Leslie Bibb, Sarah Catherine Hook, Patrick Schwarzenneger, Jon Gries, Sam Nivola, Nicholas Duvernay, Charlotte Le Bon, and Tayme Thapthimthong were also in attendance.
On Saturday, Duke University’s Men’s basketball team lost to the University of Houston Cougars in the semi-finals of the NCAA Men’s Division I Basketball Tournament.
An image from the episode of Timothy holding a gun to his head previously became meme fodder among March Madness fans, with one X user joking that “White Lotus just blessed us w an all-time meme if Duke loses early in the tournament (and for any brutal Duke loss thereafter.”
The post, which has since gone viral, also elicited a reply from Duke: “Suicide is the second-leading cause of death on college campuses. Rivalry is part of March Madness, but some imagery goes too far. If you or someone you know needs support, call or text the Suicide Prevention Hotline at 988.”
In a three-star review of the finale, The Independent’s Adam White argued that the show’s third season “was The White Lotus at its most un-fun.”
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