By The Daily Caller (Opinion) | Created at 2025-03-27 22:26:16 | Updated at 2025-04-04 23:11:30
1 week ago
LeBron vs. Stephen A. … Duke vs. “The White Lotus” … it seems everybody wants an opp today.
Duke University is quite irritated with the team that produces “The White Lotus,” a hit television series broadcasted on HBO. And considering the context behind everything, it’s completely understandable.
Dropped Mar. 16, the fifth episode of “The White Lotus” has a scene that features a character from the show named Timothy Ratliff, acted by Jason Isaac, holding a gun to his head and on the verge of committing suicide. And in the process of this, he was wearing a t-shirt that had “DUKE” spelled out in huge letters on the front.
The image from the show has since gone viral, especially when it comes to the college basketball community on social media, with haters of the Blue Devils planning on using the photo as a meme to taunt Duke when they struggle. Both the men’s and women’s teams have punched their tickets to the Sweet 16 in March Madness. (RELATED: ‘This Man Is In His Feelings’: Stephen A. Smith Sends An Absolute Nuke At LeBron James To Continue Insane Beef)
“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,” said Duke vice president for communications, marketing and public affairs Frank Tramble in an official statement.
“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.
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.”
White Lotus just blessed us w an all-time meme if Duke loses early in the tournament (and for any brutal Duke loss thereafter) pic.twitter.com/pIsYiiozYL
— glansberg (@bigpizzaguy) March 17, 2025
Ery’body beefin’ with ery’body! The climate today is absolutely wild! We’re definitely in the age of beef!
