Eruditio et Religio.
Jason Isaacs will forever flaunt his “White Lotus” character’s Blue Devil pride, regardless of any backlash from Duke University.
On Sunday, the actor, who plays Timothy Ratliff in Season 3 of the HBO series attended the star-studded finale event at Four Seasons Hotel Westlake Village, California, alongside co-stars Patrick Schwarzenegger, Leslie Bibb, Aimee Lou Wood and more.
The actor struck a pose on the red carpet, wearing a gray suit with a bright blue Duke T-shirt underneath — a not-so-subtle nod to his character Timothy Ratliff’s signature ensemble throughout the season and now-viral meme.
Isaacs’ casual-cool attire comes just one week after Duke University said the hit show went “too far” with how its iconic royal blue logo was featured in an episode, according to Bloomberg.
The school issued a statement saying that the show uses their logo without permission in “troubling” imagery, which has since spread across social media as a viral March Madness meme following Duke’s massive NCAAFinal Four upset.
In Episode 5 of “The White Lotus,” released on March 16, the patriarch holding a gun to his temple and contemplating suicide while wearing a T-shirt with the Duke lettering on it in a dream sequence.
The gray and blue tee became a staple throughout the season, as Ratliff was constantly sleeping — and plotting the murder of his family — in the shirt while being investigated by the FBI for a money-laundering scheme.
“‘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 vice president for communications, marketing and public affairs, said as part of a statement.
He continued, “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.”
At the finale event, others embraced their character as well, including on-screen son Sam Nivola, who wore a very resort-appropriate Gucci red printed silk twill bowling shirt.
Schwarzenegger went with a white pinstripe suit that could’ve been something the renewed Saxon might gravitate towards while Charlotte Le Bon (Chloe) showed perhaps that she wears the pants in her relationship with a full Gucci suit and tie.
Now that the season is over, we think everyone needs a Lorazepam.