Why Duke University Isn’t Happy With ‘The White Lotus’ Season 3

Duke University has a bone to pick with The White Lotus Season 3.

After the hit HBO show featured Duke merch in one of the most violent scenes so far in the season, the prestigious university slammed the series for going “too far.” Warning: This post contains spoilers for The White Lotus Season 3.

The third season of the show is set at a luxury resort in Thailand and follows the wealthy guests vacationing there. Among them is the Ratliff family, whose patriarch, North Carolina businessman and Duke graduate Timothy (Jason Isaacs), discovers he is being investigated by the FBI over a money laundering scheme. Faced with the reality of losing everything and going to prison, Timothy visualizes violent solutions to his problem during a series of vivid daydream sequences – in one, he shot himself in the head, his distraught wife and daughter discovering his body; in another, he shot his wife and then himself – all while wearing a Duke T-shirt.

After the sixth episode, “Denials,” aired Sunday, Frank Tramble, the university’s vice president for communications, marketing and public affairs, told The New York Times that Duke did not approve of the use of its “marks” in the program.

“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,” Tramble said. “Suicide is the second-leading cause of death on college campuses. 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.”

He added, “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.”

In the days since Sunday’s newest episode, which also saw Timothy’s sons – fellow Duke grad Saxon and Lochlan – kiss and take part in a threesome, images of Timothy holding the gun to his head have been turned into a meme and spread across social media as the Blue Devils men’s and women’s teams are in the NCAA Tournament.

HBO has not responded to Duke’s statement at this time, but Jeanne Fromer, a professor who specializes in intellectual property law at the New York University School of Law, noted that artists are protected to use trademarks for artistic and expressive purposes under the first amendment. Former said, “On the one hand, I understand that Duke is trying to disassociate themselves from this. On the other hand, they’re drawing attention to it.”

New episodes of The White Lotus air Sundays on HBO. Season 3 is set to wrap on April 6.