Cliff Notes – The White Lotus removed non-binary character after Trump’s re-election
- Carrie Coon revealed that her character Laurie was originally set to disclose her non-binary child in a scene that was ultimately cut from The White Lotus.
- The decision to remove the scene was made by creator Mike White, who felt it was not the right way to engage in discussions about gender identity in the context of the political climate following Trump’s re-election.
- The scene was filmed prior to the election and aimed to highlight the complexities of personal relationships amid political differences, particularly regarding issues of gender identity.
The White Lotus removed non-binary character after Trump’s re-election
The White Lotus actor Carrie Coon has revealed a non-binary character was removed from the HBO show after Donald Trump’s second term as US president.
The actor, who plays Laurie, trapped in a toxic friendship with Jaclyn (Michelle Monaghan) and Kate (Leslie Bibb), said that her character mentioned her child was non-binary in a now-scrapped ‘short’ scene.
The conversation originally was part of the wider scene in which Jaclyn and Laurie are shocked after Kate implies she voted for Trump during a fraught political discussion.
Coon, 44, said revealing her child’s gender identity made Kate’s political persuasion ‘more provocative and personally offensive.’
However, Coon explained creator Mike White ultimately decided against including the brief scene, which was filmed before the US election, because it ‘wasn’t the right way to engage in that conversation’ after Trump stoked the culture wars.
She told Harper’s Bazaar: ‘You originally found out that her daughter was actually nonbinary, maybe trans, and going by they/them.
The scene was filmed before Trump’s re-election and was scrapped.
In the movies you see Laurie struggling to explain it to her friends, struggling to use they/them pronouns, struggling with the language, which was all interesting.
It was only a short scene, but for me, it did make the question of whether Kate voted for Trump so much more provocative and personally offensive to Laurie, considering who her child is in the world.’
Coon added: ‘The season was written before the election. And considering the way the Trump administration has weaponized the cultural war against transgender people even more since then, when the time came to cut the episode down, Mike felt that the scene was so small and the topic so big that it wasn’t the right way to engage in that conversation.’
Earlier this year, it was revealed that Russian-Serbian actor Miloš Biković was replaced in The White Lotus season three after he accepted an award from Putin and expressed support for the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
In The White Lotus, Leslie’s character reveals she voted for Trump
The 37-year-old exited the hit show at the end of January just days before it was released, with Bulgarian actor Julian Kostov, 35, instead stepping into his recurring role.
In a statement shared with Deadline, he said: ‘I was honoured to be chosen to be a part of White Lotus, a TV series that I hold in high regard and with colleagues whom I deeply respect.
‘However, my participation is not possible due to reasons beyond the realm of art and I will not bow to any narrative that seeks to compromise my integrity.’
Last year, Ukraine’s foreign ministry hit out at The White Lotus over Biković on X after his political beliefs emerged, writing: ‘@HBO, is it all right for you to work with a person who supports genocide & violates international law?’
The White Lotus is available to stream on Now in the UK and HBO in the US.