Jason Isaacs refused to say if he wore a prosthetic during his nude scene on The White Lotus—and said there's a "double standard" for male actors.
During an interview with CBS Mornings on Friday, Isaacs grew frustrated when asked about his character Timothy Ratliff’s full-frontal nude scene on the most recent episode of the hit HBO series.
As explained by TV Insider, Ratliff, a wealthy businessman who is navigating a crumbling business and family turmoil, had been self-medicating with his wife Victoria’s Lorazepam. While in a doped up daze in the morning, Ratliff accidentally lets his robe fall open and unintentionally exposes himself to his family.
“Was that you or was that a prosthetic? Because we were debating it,” asked 70-year-old King around the 4-minute, 20-second mark in the video linked below.
“A lot of people were debating it. It’s all over the internet,” said Isaacs, 61.
The slight deflection led King to reiterate, “You didn’t answer the question.”
“Well, I’ll tell you why. Because the Best Actress this year was Mikey Madison at the Oscars, and I don't see anybody discussing her vulva—which is on television all the time, and I’m not talking about Swedish cars,” the British actor explained.
He continued, "I think it's interesting that there's a double standard for men, but when women are naked—Margaret Qualley as well, in The Substance—nobody would dream of talking to her about her genitalia or her nipples or any of those things. So it's odd that there's a double standard."
When the hosts insisted on getting some kind of answer, Isaacs admitted he was intentionally dodging the question, saying, “It is a dodge, because I don't think that people really wanna know how the sausage is made."
Co-host Tony Dokoupil, 44, then jokingly asked if the same prosthetic department that handles ears and noses are also responsible for recreating genitals.
"Who's got fake ears and noses?" Isaacs responded. "I genuinely think it would be odd when there are characters, and some of the women are naked in there—it'd be odd if they were sitting here … You would never dream of discussing their genitalia. Not for a second."
Even after the conversation continued in a different direction, Dokoupil reiterated, “I think if prosthetics were standard with actresses, we would ask a male actor.”
"What is your obsession with it? Are you having therapy?” Isaacs quipped. “Mike White is a brilliant writer. It's the best series on television for a long time. What is the obsession with penises? It's an odd thing."
Actors Sam Nivola, 21, and Sarah Catherine Hook, 29, who play Isaac’s children in the series explained that he was wearing a prosthetic all along.
“It was a prosthetic. It was really funny. He was very excited to do it. I think he took pride in the prosthetic,” Hook said. “He gave that guy a nice shot.”
“He’s like, ‘It’s my fake dick scene today!’” Nivola added.
Isaacs' comments received mixed reactions online, with some pointing out that women are scrutinized for their performances with nude scenes. Others mentioned Mikey Madison was slut-shamed for her award-winning performance in Anora and the multiple interviews in which Margaret Qualley spoke about the prosthetics she wore in The Substance.
Check out some of those reactions below.
Check out Complex's list of The Best TV Shows to Watch on HBO Max Right Now and see where The White Lotus ranks on our list of The Top 20 HBO Shows Of All Time, Ranked.