White Lotus creator reveals why sex scene where Piper loses her virginity was cut from Season 3 finale
The White Lotus creator says it was “very disappointing” he had to cut a sex scene from the already explosive Season 3 finale of the hit series.
TV
Don't miss out on the headlines from TV. Followed categories will be added to My News.
Warning: This article contains spoilers for the Season 3 finale of The White Lotus.
As fans continue to process yesterday’s explosive Season 3 finale of The White Lotus, it has been revealed that a sex scene was cut from the episode by creator and writer Mike White.
Speaking on The White Lotus Official Podcast, White revealed that he had written a scene between Piper Ratliff (played by Sarah Catherine Hook) and Belinda’s (Natasha Rothwell) son Zion (Nicholas Duvernay), during which he takes her virginity.
MORE: Shock price of epic White Lotus villa revealed
White, who also directed all of the show’s episodes, said it was “very disappointing” the scene had to be removed, but he had no choice as the episode was already running longer than anticipated.
“It was just one of these things where it’s an hour and a half already,” he explained on the podcast. “It would have added, like, 10 minutes to the thing.”
The creator behind the hit HBO series – which is now streaming on Max, BINGE and Foxtel – said that while he did not oppose the scene, it did seem tonally off as Piper’s businessman dad Tim Ratliff (Jason Isaacs) was experiencing murder-suicide ideations in the finale.
“It had a little bit of a romantic rom-com vibe in the middle of, you know, trying to kill the family with the pong pong fruits,” White said.
“It just felt like I was trying to do too much narratively.”
As for why Piper’s virginity was a plot line in the finale stems back to a conversation in episode one with her older brother Saxon (Patrick Schwarzenegger).
In the scene, Piper – who convinced their dad to take them to Thailand so she could visit a Buddhist monastery – is accused by Saxon of still being a virgin, which she doesn’t deny.
In the last episode, White thought it would be a full-circle moment if Piper conceded that she needed to have sex after realising monastery life was not for her.
“She’s like, ‘It’s true, Saxon’s right about this one thing, I need to get this over with,’” White revealed of the deleted scene.
“After she leaves the monastery, she’s just like, ‘I need to have sex.’”
Superfans would have noticed Piper dressing less conservatively in the last episode, and this transformation made the cut and is evident in the final scene with her siblings on the boat.
“She has her hair down... she’s just thinking about how she got nicely f***ed or whatever,” White explained. “And he’s [Saxon] reading his self-help book. It’s this kind of reversal.”
The decision to remove the scene has been debated on X, with most fans agreeing it was a good move by White.
“Would have felt insanely forced,” one tweeted, while another wrote, “Yeah that would’ve been random as hell.”
“Glad it was cut- would not have fit her character at all. Totally out of left field,” another added, as one commented, “I can’t believe they were really going to go there with Piper and Zion. Glad they realised that was a hard pass.”
Meanwhile, other viewers are still itching to see the scene.
“So, we need the directors cut,” one tweeted, with another echoing, “This would have sold her story arc much better. Oh well.”
The White Lotus Season 3 is now streaming on Max, BINGE and Foxtel
Originally published as White Lotus creator reveals why sex scene where Piper loses her virginity was cut from Season 3 finale
Shows you don’t want to miss this week
Pedro Pascal and Bella Ramsey make their highly-anticipated return in post-apocalyptic drama The Last Of Us while Australia’s Jacob Elordi plays a POW in The Narrow Road To The Deep North.
Star’s wild act ‘confirms’ White Lotus feud
Rumours of an on-set feud have emerged, and now actor Walton Goggins appears to have all but confirmed there’s bad blood.