Get all your news in one place.
100's of premium titles.
One app.
Start reading
The Guardian - UK
The Guardian - UK
Comment
Barbara Ellen

The White Lotus gay sex scene was shocking because it was so gloriously unapologetic

Leo Woodall as White Lotus character Jack sitting in bed.
Leo Woodall’s character Jack is caught having sex with ‘uncle’ Quentin in series two of The White Lotus. Photograph: HBO

Maybe you’ll have noticed – there’s just been an old-school “watercooler moment”: people talking about that scene in the second series of Sky Atlantic’s The White Lotus, when Jennifer Coolidge’s socialite, Tanya, chances upon Quentin (Tom Hollander) having sex with his supposed “nephew”, Jack (Leo Woodall). Nor is it “tastefully suggestive”. It’s stark naked, full-on, explicit.

This isn’t our old friend, moral panic. Anybody who’s ever watched The White Lotus, created by Mike White, knows it’s that kind of wild show. In the first series, Murray Bartlett’s increasingly crazed hotel manager ends up with his face buried between an employee’s bare buttocks. Nor do viewers seem offended by the scene between Hollander and Woodall. It’s more: “Wow – did that just happen?”

Sign up to read this article
Read news from 100's of titles, curated specifically for you.
Already a member? Sign in here
Related Stories
Top stories on inkl right now
One subscription that gives you access to news from hundreds of sites
Already a member? Sign in here
Our Picks
Fourteen days free
Download the app
One app. One membership.
100+ trusted global sources.