Patrick Schwarzenegger had no idea his White Lotus character was about to go full frontal into gay porn parody legend. The actor, who played the privileged, chaotic Saxon Ratliff in season 3 of the wildly viral HBO drama, says he found out about Tight Lotus — yes, that’s the name — the same way any gay man dreams of finding out he’s been fictionalized into adult cinema: casually, at the gym.
“I’ve had some really weird experiences the past 10, 12 weeks with White Lotus coming out,” he told W. “Last week, I was at the gym with two of my friends, and a guy walked up to me and said, ‘I love your work, and I had to come over to you because my boyfriend just booked playing Saxon Ratliff in The Tight Lotus.’”
Schwarzenegger’s reaction? Total bewilderment. “I said, ‘What is that?’ And he said, ‘Tight Lotus — it’s a new porno coming out!’ And I said, ‘Excuse me?!’ And he goes, ‘Yeah, he [my boyfriend] is playing you.’ I was like, ‘Oh my god!’”
Let’s be clear: it was only a matter of time before The White Lotus — a series that delights in dripping decadence and taboo — got the porn parody treatment. But it’s the fact that the parody leans into that plotline that makes this such a juicy little twist. Viewers will remember the now-infamous storyline where Saxon and his brother Lochlan go from side-eyes in the spa to… a full-blown hookup during a party with two women. The scene, which shocked and titillated viewers, became one of the season’s most viral (and controversial) moments.
Incest, Parody, and the LGBTQ Gaze
It’s not every day that a major network show gets a porn spin-off featuring an incestuous gay hookup. But The White Lotus was never playing by the rules. Saxon’s transformation from a spoiled, sexist nightmare into a tragic, sexual enigma gave the audience — especially queer viewers — something both disturbing and delicious to latch onto.
For many LGBTQ fans, the storyline wasn’t just about shock value — it was about how queerness, repression, and identity can get twisted in a toxic cocktail of family trauma and privilege. The fact that Tight Lotus picked up on this absurd, high-camp drama and turned it into full-on erotica is both hilarious and oddly affirming.
Because let’s face it — the gays know how to take what’s taboo and turn it into art. Or, in this case, art-adjacent adult content.
From Cringe to Cult Icon
Schwarzenegger, who admittedly was not prepared for the “you’re being played in porn” conversation during leg day, has taken the parody in stride. And why not? The reaction proves one thing: White Lotus didn’t just make Saxon a talking point — it made him a cultural archetype.
As Tight Lotus rolls out to what will surely be a very specific audience, it’s another reminder of how queer culture continues to reshape the mainstream — even when it’s through a lens as absurd as an incest-laced parody. The gays saw the taboo, saw the tension, and did what we always do: made it into content. Flawless, inappropriate, wildly on-brand content.
Patrick, honey, welcome to the canon.