Actress Carrie Coon ("Gone Girl", "The Leftovers") says that her character in the third season of "The White Lotus" was originally written as the mother of a non-binary child. However, the scene exploring this storyline was cut from the final version after Donald Trump was re-elected as president of the United States.
In an interview with Harper’s Bazaar, Coon revealed that there had been a scene in which it is disclosed that Laurie’s child is “actually non-binary, possibly trans, and uses they/them pronouns. You see Laurie struggling to explain this to her friends, finding it difficult to use the correct pronouns and language – and it was fascinating.”
The scene, written and filmed prior to the U.S. election, was meant to provide deeper political and emotional context to another pivotal moment in the season. In that moment, Kate (played by Leslie Bibb) refuses to reveal whom she voted for, a choice that sparks judgmental reactions from her friends, who are convinced she supported Trump.
According to Coon, series creator Mike White decided to cut the scene, feeling that “it was too significant a topic for such a brief moment and that it wouldn’t do justice to the subject.” This decision was particularly influenced by the Trump administration’s intensified weaponization of the cultural battle against the trans community, she explained.
Coon praised White’s approach to character development, noting his commitment to complexity and nuance. “They’re never just one thing. His father wrote a profoundly influential book about coming out as a gay man within the evangelical church as an adult – a text that many young people have read and found transformative in their personal journeys,” she said. “That’s why Mike doesn’t shy away from tackling challenging cultural issues, and I deeply admire that about his work.”
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Bibb, in a separate interview, also reflected on the election-related scene, saying that during filming she thought the topic wouldn’t remain relevant, but now it feels “surprisingly timely.”
Trump's actions regarding the LGBTQ community since winning re-election
Since Trump’s re-election in November 2024, his administration has escalated its agenda targeting the non-binary and transgender community. Key actions include pushing for federal legislation to define gender as strictly binary, either male or female, and assigned at birth, and advocating for a nationwide ban on gender-affirming care for minors. These measures, framed as protecting children, have been widely condemned by medical experts who stress the importance of such care for transgender youth.
When it comes to U.S. armed forces, the Pentagon has announced a directive to separate service members and recruits with gender dysphoria, following an executive order issued by Trump on January 27. The policy identifies gender dysphoria as "incompatible with military standards" for readiness, cohesion and integrity. The Pentagon memo states that only two sexes, male and female, are recognized, and pronoun usage must align with a service member's sex.
First published: 17:59, 04.01.25