I have a friend named John. John has a lot going for him. He’s funny, charismatic and relatively tall. He’s a straight-A student, adored by all who know him and he volunteers at a local children’s hospital for fun. John’s the type of guy who loves to make the rest of us feel like real D-bags. However, John has one flaw. Whenever we go out to dinner, he must inform the waiter of his “severe peanut allergy.” Now, John having a peanut allergy is tolerable. It’s his comment after that makes my eyes roll so far back behind my head.
“Hey fellas! You know that I have a peanut allergy. It’s not something I asked for, so I’d appreciate it if you keep the jokes to a minimum.”
Now, there are two reasons this bothers me. First, by drawing attention to his pathetic allergy, he increases the chance of blowing my cover that I too am allergic to those murderous nuts. And second, in trying to downplay his connection to the peanut, John ends up spotlighting it. No one cared about his allergy before — but by bringing it up again, he amplifies the attention it receives.
It seems John needs a new PR manager. Let’s hope he does not hire Duke’s guy.
Okay, spoiler: There is no John. And, I don’t actually have a peanut allergy …
Duke University is John, and the peanut allergy is the unhinged actor from “The White Lotus” who for all his fortune seemingly owns but one shirt — a gray one with a massive Duke logo plastered across the front.
For those unfamiliar, Season 3 of HBO's “The White Lotus” highlights Duke through the Ratliff family, with the patriarch, Timothy Ratliff (played by Jason Isaacs), and his son, Saxon (Patrick Schwarzenegger), depicted as Duke alumni. While the characters drew some early criticism, it was a particular scene in Episode 6 — where Timothy raises a gun to his head while wearing Duke apparel — that led the University to issue a response.
That is, on March 25, Frank Tramble, Duke’s vice president for communications, marketing and public affairs, released a statement to Bloomberg News, expressing Duke’s frustration with their representation in the hit HBO show. In the statement, Tramble wrote, “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.”
Duke’s displeasure is understandable. After all, I’d imagine that Saxon (a chauvinistic nepotism baby) and Timothy (a suicidal money launderer) would not have been their first choices to represent the University. To make matters worse, UNC is portrayed in an almost saintly light. Their representative, Piper — a senior and the family’s daughter — is compassionate, down-to-earth and, naturally, an aspiring Buddhist.
But forget the fact that the portrayal is offensive — it’s downright inaccurate. I mean, for one, I have never met a single person at Duke like Saxon …
Okay, that’s a lie.
And sure, I’ve met plenty of Iron Dukes like Timothy, but that’s neither here nor there.
Listen, I do not blame Duke for condemning their inclusion in “The White Lotus.” It is a sheer fallacy that all publicity is good publicity — especially when it involves suicidal ideation. No university wants to be linked to such imagery, particularly when suicide is “the second-leading cause of death on college campuses” as mentioned by Tramble. Thus, I’d estimate that just about every university would have taken a similar position.
Nonetheless, if Duke had leaned away from their army of consultants and lawyers in favor of listening to me — an obnoxious Chronicle writer with a peanut allergy — I would have told the school to refrain.
Had Duke chosen silence, sure, a few memes would flicker across screens, particularly if the team loses in the Final Four. Yet it’s hard to see that any fans of the show would genuinely tie the University to drugs, despair or high-stakes fraud. And given the character draped in Duke’s name, few would suspect the school endorsed the portrayal.
But by choosing to release a statement, Duke has now drawn more attention than it could have desired. CNN, USA Today, NBC and The New York Times are only some of the organizations to have covered the story. At the same time, millions of Americans who likely had never even heard of “The White Lotus” have now seen the infamous image of Timothy Ratliff.
Of course, if Duke were to have a legitimate case for defamation, my opinion would be different. But, as stated by Scott Landsbaum, an intellectual property business attorney, shows and films are afforded significant “protection under the First Amendment for artistic endeavors as long as you’re not doing something that would be considered defamatory … Simply showing some copyrighted work on a T-shirt is fair use.”
When I first read The Chronicle's article reporting on the subject, I could not help but be reminded of the times my family hosted everyone over for the holidays. There, my mom partakes in the quiet tradition of offering little disclaimers about the meal before anyone’s even taken a bite.
“I think the turkey might be a little overcooked.”
“I tried something new with the soup — hopefully it’s okay.”
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“I didn’t have time to bake, so the brownies are from the store.”
It’s her way of managing expectations, though no one’s ever complained — and honestly, we’d miss it if she didn’t.
So, with this in mind …
To Mom: The dog — I mean I — will love your food regardless.
To John: It’s okay that you are allergic to peanuts. Just don’t drag me down with you.
And to Duke: No one blames you for Mike White’s creative decisions.
He’s probably a Tarheel fan.
Alex Berkman is a Trinity junior. His pieces typically run on alternate Wednesdays.