On Monday 15 January 2024, Jennifer Coolidge decided to do the most iconic thing by giving a special shoutout to “all the evil gays” in her Emmy acceptance speech.

The line, of course, refers to her performance as Tanya McQuoid in The White Lotus, for which the American actress won the award for Best Supporting Actress in a Drama Series.

In the anthological series, Tanya is a needy and self-absorbed heiress who realises that her husband Greg orchestrated her murder with a group of his gay friends. After discovering that she was lured onto a boat, far away from the mainland, with one of the men hiding a gun and rope in his bags, Tanya pleads for the boat’s captain to help her: “Please, these gays, they’re trying to murder me!”

However, to both of their detriment, he doesn’t speak English and is unable to assist.

@hbomax

Not the best boat trip she’s ever had. #thewhitelotus

♬ original sound - HBO Max

The memorable phrase has been memed endlessly, as it embedded itself into pop culture throughout the last year:

@lauren.natalie

got on a boat in italy just to recreate this scene from the white lotus 🙏🙏 #whitelotus #jennifercoolidge #thewhitelotus #italy #fyp #whitelotusseason2 #hbo #tvshow

♬ original sound - lauren ☆ (伍令禧)

@itskodatheshiba

♬ Please these gays theyre trying to murder me - Candy Moore

@maisydewey

♬ Please these gays theyre trying to murder me - Candy Moore

@raviroundtheworld

♬ Please these gays theyre trying to murder me - Candy Moore

The character ultimately decides to take matters into her own hands, steals the gun, and takes down her would-be murders one by one.

It would have been a victorious ending if she hadn’t fallen off the boat, hit her head and died. The satire and irony of The White Lotus doesn’t spare anyone, not even Jennifer Coolidge.

The White Lotus is a delicious cocktail of ‘eat the rich’ caricature and suspense that explores themes of wealth, corruption, sexuality and mortality in every season, which always takes place at a luxury White Lotus resort.

So it’s no surprise that the internet went wild when a couple of the details for season three were admitted.

Variety reported that the show’s third season will be filmed in Thailand. Furthermore, Natasha Rothwell, who played Belinda in the first season, will reprise her role. Others to join the cast are: German actor Christian Friedel, New Zealand actor Morgana O’Reilly, Sri Lankan actor Shalini Peiris and Thai actor Patravadi Mejudhon, as reported by The Independent.

According to creator Mike White, season 3 will take a funny look at death, Eastern religion and spirituality.