Duke College stated “The White Lotus,” the hit sequence on HBO, went “too far” with how its iconic royal-blue emblem was featured in a current episode, in accordance with Bloomberg.
The college issued an announcement and stated that the present makes use of their emblem with out permission in “troubling” imagery, which has since unfold throughout social media and paints their model in a adverse gentle.
Duke was referring to episode 5 of “The White Lotus,” launched on March 16, that confirmed (spoilers forward) Timothy Ratliff, performed by actor Jason Isaac, considering suicide whereas sporting a t-shirt with the Duke lettering on it.
A now-viral meme of Ratliff, whose character at midnight comedy is a proud Duke alumni, holding a gun to his temple is getting used to place added strain on Duke because the Blue Devils’ males’s and ladies’s basketball groups are about to play within the Candy 16 of the 2025 NCAA Event this week.
“White Lotus just blessed us w an all-time meme if Duke loses early in the tournament (and for any brutal Duke loss thereafter),” somebody wrote, together with the meme, on X.
“My cousin who is a die hard Tar Heel fan is specifically waiting to use this at some point this tournament,” one other added, referring to Duke’s essential rival, North Carolina.
The No. 1 seeded Duke males’s workforce will face Arizona, the fourth seed, on Thursday night time.
The ladies, a No. 2 seed, tackle the rival North Carolina Tar Heels, the No. 3 seed, on Friday.
“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,” Frank Tramble, Duke’s vp for communications, advertising and marketing and public affairs, stated as a part of an announcement.
“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.”
Within the present’s third season, which takes place at a luxurious resort in Thailand the place the household is vacationing, Ratliff contemplates suicide as a result of he’s implicated in a money-laundering scheme and is being investigated by the FBI.
“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,” Tramble stated.
Bloomberg didn’t disclose if Duke had taken motion in opposition to Warner Bros., which owns HBO.
Ratliff’s spouse, Victoria Ratliff (performed by actress Parker Posey), is an excessively proud North Carolina alumna and their son Saxon (Patrick Schwarzenegger) is a current Duke graduate. Their daughter (Sarah Catherine Hook) attends the College of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
“The White Lotus” airs Sundays at 9 p.m. on HBO.
