‘It came out wrong’: Jason Isaacs apologizes to the actresses he mentioned while addressing *that* ‘White Lotus’ scene

The White Lotus star Jason Isaacs has retracted the comments he made about two actresses while discussing the public reaction to a buzzy scene from the HBO series. 

In case you missed it, Isaacs’ The White Lotus character, Tim Ratliff, got tongues wagging after last week’s episode when an untied bathrobe led to a full-frontal flash for both his family members and legions of viewers. In the resulting fanfare, Isaacs explained his willingness to go nude was in an effort to “go big or go home,” but he appeared less enthused about discussing whether the scene required a prosthetic appendage. 

Isaacs repeatedly dodged such questions during an interview on CBS Mornings, saying he doesn’t think fans “want to know how the sausage is made.” Going beyond that curious choice of words, the actor then said all the hullabaloo around his full-frontal scene highlighted a supposed double standard. “It’s interesting that there’s a double standard for men,” Isaacs told host Gayle King, before name-dropping two actresses who, according to him, were not subject to such scrutiny. 

“The best actress this year is Mikey Madison at the Oscars, and I don’t see anybody discussing her vulva, which was on [the screen] all the time,” Isaacs said, in reference to Madison’s role in Anora. “Margaret Qualley as well, in The Substance,” he added, “and nobody would dream of talking to her about her genitalia or her nipples or any of those things.” Isaacs concluded by reiterating the “odd” double standard in Hollywood and the “weird obsession with penises,” since “you would never dream of discussing [women’s] genitalia, not for a second.”

I guarantee there’s infinitely more comments about Mikey Madison naked than Jason Isaacs lol.

Don’t get me wrong, I don’t think he’d ever encounter that day to day with her specifically, but people aren’t particularly shy about commenting on women’s bodies lol. https://t.co/b70hBiQwtV

— grimm (@ExileGrimm) March 17, 2025

Naturally, Isaacs’ comments drew criticism from some social media users, who reminded the actor that, in reality, many actresses have been subject to inappropriate questions about their bodies over the years, including just recently with Demi Moore in The Substance. This response to Isaacs’ comments is perhaps why he released a statement in which he walked back on his original sentiments. “I said the wrong words in the wrong way,” Isaacs told Variety. “I used the phrase ‘double standard,’ which I didn’t mean at all. There is a [different] double standard — women have been monstrously exploited and men haven’t.”

The actor went on to say his comments “came out wrong” because he “was tired,” before addressing Madison directly. “I absolutely should not have mentioned those two actresses, whom I respect enormously,” he said, “Mikey Madison I’m a massive fan of. My point wasn’t that men have had a harder time than women — that would be absurd. Women have had a monstrous time on camera forever, and I hope to God that is changing.”

Jason Isaacs is clarifying his previous comments about a “double standard” for male actors doing nude scenes:

“I said the wrong words in the wrong way. I used the phrase ‘double standard,’ which I didn’t mean at all. There is a [different] double standard — women have been… pic.twitter.com/ApO86lNTQz

— Variety (@Variety) March 18, 2025

While he clarified his comments, Isaacs said he stands by his assertion that it’s a “bit weird” for journalists to question whether he was wearing a prosthetic for the scene. He said the question basically translates to “‘have I seen your actual penis? It’s very important for me to know if I’ve seen your penis.’ It just strikes me as a bit weird and slightly obsessive.” Isaacs later mentioned the many male castmates who have have likewise gone nude in previous episodes of The White Lotus, saying it was creator Mike White’s attempt to “redress the unfair balance” of nudity on screen.

We’ve already borne witness to at least three male nude scenes in the currently airing third season, while previous installments have seen full-frontal flashes from Steve Zahn in season one and Theo James in season two. Hopefully, any chatter about Isaacs’ scene will soon be outdone when we discover who dies at the end of season three. Please God, don’t let it be Belinda.