HBO has found itself under fire after it was announced that actress Sandra Bernhard secured a role in the fourth season of The White Lotus.
The actress will appear alongside the likes of Helena Bonham Carter, Steve Coogan, Chris Messina, Alexander Ludwig, AJ Michalka, Caleb Jonte Edwards, and Marissa Long.
Production for the latest instalment is taking place at Château de La Messardière in Saint-Tropez, with the French Riviera serving as the backdrop for this season’s murder mystery narrative.
As with previous seasons, the series will chronicle the experiences of guests and staff at a luxury White Lotus property over the course of a week.
Sandra Bernhard has landed a role in The White Lotus
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Specific details regarding Ms Bernhard’s character remain undisclosed, as does the broader storyline for the new season.
However, Ms Bernhard’s appointment has been criticised by several telly fans due to the fact that she has been a vocal critic of Donald Trump throughout his political career.
She’s previously described him in an interview as “an idiot, a thoughtless, narcissistic jackass.”
The performer attributed his rise to “Russian interference, the racist backlash to Obama’s presidency, and people bouncing all over the place for ‘someone who tells it like it is.'”
Melania Trump has faced numerous attacks from the actress
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GETTYShe has been particularly scathing about women who voted for Trump, suggesting to MSNBC that many had “compromised, given in, raised their kids and not had the luxury of being able to think for themselves.”
Ms Bernhard also proposed that some female voters may have been “intimidated” by Hillary Clinton’s intelligence, or felt “threatened” by her achievements in education and civil rights advocacy.
“A lot of women have compromised, given in, raised their kids, and not had the luxury of being able to think for themselves,” she told the network.
Ms Bernhard reserved particular fury for Melania Trump’s memoir, launching a blistering attack on her SiriusXM show, Sandyland.
The comedian branded the former First Lady a “grifter” and “a nowhere first lady,” while dismissing her autobiography as a “tacky, paper-thin volume.”
“You were a birther. You f**king jumped on the bandwagon and tortured Obama about whether he was born in America,” Bernhard declared. “So you don’t need to set any records straight, honey. We know what your record is.”
She urged listeners to boycott the publication entirely: “Ban that book. Don’t you spend a penny on that book. I forbid you to buy that book.”
The performer questioned what substance the memoir could possibly contain, asking rhetorically: “What will it be? 50 pages? Double-spaced? You have nothing to say.”
Sandra Bernhard will star in The White Lotus
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Given her persistent political tirades over the years and her targeted attacks on the Trumps, some fans have vowed not to watch the next season of The White Lotus.
After the right-wing social media page, The Daily Caller, shared a post about Ms Bernhard’s role, one Instagram user penned: “Another show I will not be watching. Just go to Angel Network.”
“Don’t know who she is …. I’ll make a note of the name of the movie so I can be sure not to watch it,” a second weighed in, while a third exclaimed: “Boycott HBO. Just cancelled my subscription.”
“Don’t know who she is, but I know who Melania is. I also know that as far as appearances and class – Melania wins HANDS DOWN,” a fourth weighed in. (sic)
Sandra Bernhard did receive plenty of support after she celebrated the news on Instagram
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“She’s not an outspoken critic. She just nasty in what she says,” added a fifth before a sixth commented: “Well that ends my viewership of white lotus doesn’t it we Republicans do vote with our feet and our wallets.” (sic)
Ms Bernhard’s casting follows a busy period for the performer, who recently appeared in A24’s Marty Supreme, which has garnered nine Oscar nominations.
She has also featured in Apple TV’s Severance and Disney+’s Percy Jackson and The Olympians.
Television audiences may best remember Ms Bernhard for her portrayal of Nancy Bartlett Thomas on the ABC sitcom Roseanne, a role she inhabited from the show’s fourth season in 1991 through to its conclusion in 1997.
Her character, who was depicted as lesbian and later bisexual, made headlines at the time alongside Roseanne Barr’s kiss with Mariel Hemingway.
More recently, Bernhard took on the role of Nurse Judy Kubrak in the FX drama Pose, and appeared in Pamela Adlon’s film Babes alongside Michelle Buteau and Ilana Glazer.
