Extremely wealthy people: They’re just like us! That’s one of the recurring take-home messages of HBO’s hit series The White Lotus, and many fans were reminded of exactly that in the March 2 episode. Suffice it to say, that tense dinner conversation that Jaclyn, Laurie, and Kate got into in the most recent episode of The White Lotus Season 3 — when diehard Democrats Jaclyn and Laurie discovered Kate is a member of the Independent Party (and probably voted for President Donald Trump) — is resonating with a lot of people online who say their friendships have splintered over politics in the last few years. It also evokes some pretty strong opinions Gen Zers shared in the leadup to the divisive 2024 election (which likely have grown even stronger post-inauguration).
In a May 2024 survey, Her Campus asked Gen Zers to weigh in on their top political issues, their voting habits, and how much or how little politics affects their different relationships. While this generation is known by many for having progressive priorities, Gen Z is a diverse group of varying political opinions and outlooks — as evidenced by Gen Z voters coming out in much higher numbers for Trump than was initially expected. So how do they feel when they find out a friend isn’t aligned with them politically, like the toxic trio’s situation on The White Lotus? Is it worth ending the friendship over? For 42% of Gen Zers who responded in Her Campus’s survey, it is.
When asked how likely they would be to end a friendship due to conflicting political views, 42% of survey respondents said they were at least “somewhat likely” (with 17% of those respondents being “very likely” to do so). Interestingly, that number increased by quite a bit when it was asked in regard to romantic relationships, with 55% of respondents saying they’d be at least somewhat likely to cut things off with a romantic partner due to political differences (unlike Kate, who seems to have watered down her beliefs to align with her husband’s).
It makes sense that political beliefs influence Gen Zers’ social relationships, because the inverse is true, as well. In the survey, 48% of Gen Zers said their friendships have helped shape their political views, and 62% said they at least occasionally spoke with their friends about politics in the leadup to the 2024 election. Unfortunately, it seems, Jaclyn, Laurie, and Kate missed that memo. (We all know they rarely get to see each other these days, sigh.)
While ending a friendship over political differences seems like a drastic move to some, many Gen Zers have expressed feeling shocked and disappointed (or even enraged and heartbroken) to learn some of their friends didn’t align with them politically, especially in the aftermath in the most recent election. The portrayal of that feeling in The White Lotus episode — although among an older demographic — resonated with many young people for that reason, but not without some pushback.
“So disappointed they brought politics into this. They just alienated more than half of their viewers,” said Instagram user @cassiecannizzaroswieton in the comments of a recent post from the show’s IG account. Others, however, have praised the show’s creators for including the tense exchange.
I love that white lotus wrote an anti trump dialogue into this episode..it’s so fitting
— Kaitlyn (@kaaitLO) March 3, 2025
It’s clear that many Gen Zers feel that they can’t or don’t want to separate politics from their friendships and relationships, so Jaclyn and Laurie aren’t alone in their current dilemma… But they should at least be grateful that their political arguments are taking place under luscious palm trees instead of college lecture halls, am I right?