Being featured in the current season of The White Lotus may have done wonders for Thailand, but a brief appearance for Duke University has not gone down particularly well.
Spoilers for The White Lotus season 3 follow
In the sixth episode of the third season, “Denials”, Timothy Ratliff, played by Jason Isaacs, considers killing his wife, Parker Posey’s Victoria, after she admits to him that she isn’t built for a life without money, and then himself to avoid going to jail after a shady business deal.
The American university is offended that Isaacs is wearing a t-shirt from his character’s alma mater, Duke, in that episode.
A university spokesperson, Frank Tramble, said that Duke’s depiction in the series “simply goes too far”. “Duke appreciates artistic expression and creative storytelling,” he told The New York Times. “But characters’ prominently wearing apparel bearing Duke’s federally registered trademarks creates confusion and mistakenly suggests an endorsement or affiliation where none exists.”
Mr 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.”
In the fifth episode, as Ratliff continues to spiral over the repercussions of his professional dealings, he contemplates killing himself in a scene that has since become meme fodder with the closing in of NCAA national college basketball championship March Madness.
One X user posted the image and said: “White Lotus just blessed us w an all-time meme if Duke loses early in the tournament (and for any brutal Duke loss thereafter).”
At the time of writing, the post had been seen over 3.4 million times and liked over 59,000 times. The post even got 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.”
Watch Apple TV+ free for 7 days
New subscribers only. £8.99/mo. after free trial. Plan auto-renews until cancelled
Watch Apple TV+ free for 7 days
New subscribers only. £8.99/mo. after free trial. Plan auto-renews until cancelled
Although Duke officials are unhappy about their portrayal, experts say there may not be much they can do. Jeanne Fromer, who specialises in intellectual property law at the New York University, told The New York Times that trademark law protects businesses and, in this case, artists have “strong protections under the First Amendment to use well-known trademarks for artistic and expressive purposes”.
“On the one hand, I understand that Duke is trying to disassociate themselves from this,” she said. “On the other hand, they are drawing attention to it.”
In addition to being featured in scenes with Isaacs, Duke is also the alma mater of the oldest Ratliff child, Saxon, played by Patrick Schwarzenegger.
Not only is Saxon’s smug and overtly masculine nature not particularly endearing to viewers, he’s featured in the previous episode in a threesome with his brother Lochlan, played by Sam Nivola.
In contrast, their sister Piper, played by Sarah Catherine Hook, a pacifist studying religion and looking for meaning, goes to Duke’s main rival, the University of North Carolina.
The Independent has reached out to Mr Tramble and HBO for comment.
Schwarzenegger recently shared that he would not be watching the final two episodes of the season with his family as they were “crazy”.
“I think some upcoming episodes I’m gonna watch without them,” he said on The Drew Barrymore Show. “I’ll definitely take a bathroom break. The next episodes are… yeah, they’re crazy!”