PT Entertainment
Jennifer Coolidge became a fan favorite during her two season as Tanya on “The White Lotus.” And though her character tragically died in the season two finale, she went out with a bang, shooting her killers before falling off the boat herself. In a conversation with “The Bear” star Jeremy Allen White published on June 5 as part of Variety’s “Actors on Actors” series, Coolidge reflected on her character’s demise — and how freaked out she is by boats now.
“It’s the scariest thing to be on a boat. I’m never getting on a boat again,” she said. The actor added that she was particularly “creeped out” because they’d shot the show in order, so she really had bonded with her costars before their demise. “It felt very real. I really did like killing them all,” she explained.
Coolidge also revealed that the show’s creator Mike White told her at the start of the season that Tanya would have a “horrible ending.” “But he said it more like, ‘I’m sorry, Jennifer, but you’re going to have to die,'” she remembered.
As for the shooting scene itself, Coolidge said her own “awkwardness” with the gun “really helped” her channel Tanya’s own fear. “We had to reshoot that a bunch of times. Where’s the gun? The inside of the bag is black. I can’t find it. But it all felt real,” she explained. “When you’re on a boat and you’re in the middle of the ocean and there is nowhere to go, what if your castmates hate you? They could just push you. Anyone can get rid of you on a boat.”
And as for the long life of her now-iconic line — “These gays, they’re trying to murder me!” — Coolidge is “thrilled” it’s resonated so much with fans.
Coolidge won the Emmy for her role as Tanya in the first season of “The White Lotus” back in September 2022. Fans will have to wait and see if she can repeat at the awards ceremony this fall — and to see what happens in the next, Tanya-less season of “The White Lotus.”
