‘White Lotus’ Star Jason Isaacs Takes Back Comment About Male Nudity and Mikey Madison: ‘I Said the Wrong Words’ and ‘Women Have Been Monstrously Exploited’

In an attempt to playfully dodge questions about whether he was wearing a prosthetic or going au naturel in Season 3’s fourth episode, Isaacs told journalists that there is a “double standard” for male actors doing nude scenes and that the media “would never dream” of asking “Anora’s” Mikey Madison or “The Substance” star Margaret Qualley about their genitalia. To his dismay, his remarks made a splash online.

Clarifying his comments, Isaacs tells Variety, “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 monstrously exploited and men haven’t.”

“It came out wrong, and I was tired — I’d done so many interviews,” Isaacs says. “I absolutely should not have mentioned those two actresses, whom I respect enormously. 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.”

“I had been asked so many times in the same day by journalists, ‘Are you wearing a prosthetic?’ Which means, ‘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 says. “I thought I could have fun batting it off, but I batted it off very poorly.”