rewrite this title Jason Isaacs Says Duke Wanted “To Go Viral” With ‘White Lotus’ Criticism: “Faintly Amusing”

Although Duke University recently called out The White Lotus, Jason Isaacs doesn’t mind adding fuel to the publicity fire.

The Golden Globe nominee, who sported a Duke Blue Devils t-shirt at the HBO show’s Season 3 finale event last week, admitted he wanted to “cause a little bit of mischief” after the North Carolina school slammed the series for displaying its logo in a murder-suicide dream sequence.

“I bought the t-shirt because the airline canceled my flight and took my bags away, and I had nothing to change into in the morning,” he said on the Prestige Junkie podcast. “It was the only outlet there [at the Charlotte Airport]. And I also thought it might cause a little bit of mischief.

“I mean, I found the whole thing faintly amusing. I don’t like anyone getting upset about anything, but clearly, it was just someone fancying seeing their name online and wanting to go viral. Their real life alumni are such a rogue’s gallery, many of them, that the notion that one of the spiritually enlightened character on television causes them any trouble is fanciful and ridiculous,” added Isaacs.

The drama unfolded after his southern patriarch character Timothy Ratliff daydreamed about shooting himself and his family in the midst of a financial scandal while wearing a Duke t-shirt. The school called the scene “troubling,” emphasizing that it “does not reflect our values or who we are, and simply goes too far.”

Isaacs plans on keeping the shirt regardless. “It fits and I do love blue,” he said. “I didn’t even know the Devil was their team. It was the only thing that didn’t say Duke on it, and I thought, ‘Well OK, I’ll have that.’ But once I found out, I thought it would be a fun thing to wear for the photographs.”

The actor said he doesn’t even know if the school is known for “baseball, football or curling,” joking, “I was hoping they’d ask me to go sing the national anthem, and I could possibly do a Rosanne—I sing very badly. But it didn’t happen, maybe next time.”