With The White Lotus finale just a little over two weeks away, fans are coming up with theories regarding who the killer actually is this season. However, Michelle Monaghan, who plays television star Jaclyn in season 3, confidently removed one group of suspects from fans’ lists.
“You know, I’ve just got to debunk a theory out here, guys,” Michelle, 49, said during a Wednesday, March 26, appearance on Jimmy Kimmel Live. “The monkey did not do it.”
Host Jimmy Kimmel was disappointed with the news.
“I was hoping it was the monkeys,” Jimmy, 57, teased. “Those monkeys got a hold of that gun and started firing. That would be fantastic!”
Michelle continued, “People have gone apes–t thinking that!”
When Jimmy asked if the Pixels star’s character could possibly be the killer this season on White Lotus, she played coy.
“Well, I don’t know. You’ll have to watch,” Michelle replied. “Maybe I go a little bananas. Maybe.”
Viewers have seen an interesting dynamic emerge between Jaclyn and her two friends Kate (Leslie Bibb) and Laurie (Carrie Coon) over the first six episodes of White Lotus season 3. When the women arrived at the hotel in Thailand, it seemed like a casual girls trip for them to catch up with one another. However, as the season has continued, Jaclyn’s, Kate’s and Laurie’s catty sides have come out.
In episode 6, Kate discovered Jaclyn (who has a boyfriend) slept with hotel employee Valentin (Arnas Fedaravicius) despite previously encouraging Laurie to hook up with him. Michelle revealed that fans of The White Lotus were divided on how they felt about Jaclyn’s sneaky sleepover.
“I think it wasn’t so premeditated. I think it was impulsive. But I got a lot of people in my life who feel very differently. I immediately got texts from friends going, ‘Oh my God, Jaclyn is a bitch!’” Michelle explained to Jimmy. “Then I had other girlfriends going like, ‘Woo! Go Jaclyn, go.’ But the gays were all for it. The gays are like, ‘Go get yours. Like, absolutely go get yours.’ So all the gays out there are rooting for Jaclyn and all of her spicy business.”
Even though viewers didn’t have a united front about Jaclyn’s actions, the Patriots Day actress still enjoyed her time in the role.
“Over 20 years I’ve been in this industry, and I have never been a part of something as fun as this,” Michelle gushed. “To see how interactive everyone is. Like, it’s Jaclyn, I know she’s spicy, we all know she’s spicy, but I’ve got friends coming in hot about how they feel about her.”
However, the one big question everyone has about the character remains unanswered, even to Michelle. In the series, Jaclyn gained her fame through a TV show, but nobody knows what the show could be, including White Lotus creator Mike White.
“Everybody on the show, like Jason Isaacs, for example, was like ‘What’s the show that Jaclyn’s famous for?’” Michelle shared with Jimmy. “And I was like ‘I don’t know.’ He’s like ‘What do you mean you don’t know? You should know.’ Leslie Bibb [asked], ‘What’s the show? What was the hot show? What makes Jaclyn famous?’ And everybody reached out.”
She continued, “One night, we’re shooting a late-night scene, I asked Mike White, our creator of White Lotus. I’m walking with him and I’m like, ‘What’s the show that Jaclyn’s so famous for?’ And he goes, ‘I don’t know, she’s fabulous.’ He didn’t know either. And he’s like, ‘That doesn’t matter.’ And I was like, ‘Alright.’”
New episodes of The White Lotus premiere on Sunday nights at 9:00 p.m. ET on HBO and Max.
