Duke University Isn’t Happy About A “White Lotus” Character Wearing Their Merch During Disturbing Scene: “Goes Too Far”

Gonna be seeing a lot of that meme if Duke loses in the Sweet Sixteen tonight…

I don’t watch a lot of television shows, but one that’s managed to suck me in is White Lotus. The insanely popular HBO comedy/drama series is now in its third season, and follows various quirky guests at the fictional White Lotus resort. It’s got the perfect amount of satire mixed with drama, humor and mystery to make it one of the few must-watch shows for me.

This season the show is set at the White Lotus resort in Thailand, and one of the main storylines involves the Ratliff family from North Carolina who are visiting the resort so that their daughter Piper can research Buddhist monks. The father Timothy Ratliff, played by Jason Isaacs, is a wealthy financial guy and graduate of Duke University, and his son Saxon (played by Patrick Schwarzenegger) also went to Duke and works for his father’s company.

The Duke connection is mentioned several times in the storyline as Timothy’s wife Victoria reveals that she went to UNC, where Piper is currently studying. And their youngest son Lochlan has been accepted to both schools, so he has a big decision to make in his future.

The classic house divided.

Anyway, early on in the season Timothy receives a call from a journalist asking about a money laundering scandal at his company involving a former business partner. Facing potential federal charges for his own involvement, Timothy eventually steals a gun from the resort’s security guard and at one point is seen holding it to his head, prepared to commit suicide – while wearing a Duke shirt.

Well obviously with Duke currently making a run in the NCAA tournament, the image quickly began circulating online as a potential meme should the Blue Devils make an early exit.

White Lotus has gifted us an amazing Duke meme pic.twitter.com/qf54MjZ8eA

— Don England (@DonCEngland) March 24, 2025

And there’s also another (less graphic) image of Ratliff staring out of a window in his Duke shirt that also presents a pretty good opportunity for some memes poking fun at the Blue Devils:

hey babe, new Duke meme just dropped pic.twitter.com/msHSxvPZnk

— Arrogant Nation (@FightOnRusty) March 24, 2025

But unsurprisingly, Duke isn’t too happy about the images that are currently going around social media featuring their name and logo.

The university issued a statement yesterday, clarifying that they didn’t approve the use of their merch in White Lotus and criticizing the show’s scene as going “way too far.”

“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.

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.”

Probably no surprise that they’re not happy about their shirt being used in that scene…but if they want the meme to go away, they better beat Arizona tonight in the Sweet Sixteen.

If you or someone you know is struggling with thoughts of suicide, call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 800-273-TALK (8255) or text Crisis Text Line at 741741.