Arnold Schwarzenegger had slammed people who criticised him over his reaction to seeing his son’s ‘weenie’ in a shocking The White Lotus season three scene.
In case you’ve missed it, HBO’s The White Lotus is infamous for idyllic backdrops in various countries, shocking storylines and nude scenes aplenty.
The black comedy pokes fun at the wealthy and how they live, and has boasted a star-studded line-up including the likes of Aubrey Plaza, Jennifer Coolidge, Aimee Lou Wood and, of course, Arnold Schwarzenegger’s eldest son, 31-year-old Patrick Schwarzenegger.
The father-son duo recently sat down with Variety to talk all about The Terminator, nepo babies and, naturally, Patrick’s infamous ‘weenie’ scene in the show.
Arnie and his son Patrick discussed the scene in question (Axelle/Bauer-Griffin/FilmMagic)
When asked how he felt about seeing his son in the buff, the father-of-five said: “I couldn’t believe [it].
“I said to myself, ‘I’m watching your show, and I’m watching your butt sticking out there.’ And all of a sudden, I see the weenie. ‘What is going on here? This is crazy.’ Then I said to myself, ‘Well, Arnold, hello. You did the same thing in ‘Conan’ and ‘Terminator,’ so don’t complain about it.’
“But it was a shock to me that you were following my footsteps so closely,” he jibed to Patrick.
Afterwards, the actor took to Twitter in apparent embarrassment of his dad’s choice of words, writing: “Who the heck says weenie,” with a laughing and facepalm emoji.
However, the pro bodybuilder’s comments appear to have landed him in hot water, with critics accusing him of being ‘creepy’ for talking about his son’s private parts.
Arnold has since defended his reaction on Monday night’s episode of Late Night with Seth Meyers, saying that the term was used ‘in the 70s.’
“Maybe today they call it something else, I don’t know,” he laughed. “What do they call it now?”
Meyers then said he’s sure the term ‘still works.’
Some had said Arnold’s comments were ‘weird and inappropriate’ on social media, though others defended him saying he was being a typical dad.
The viral reaction came as the Predator star previously confessed he wasn’t surprised to his son reveal it all on the screen.
Fans – and his family – have seen a lot of Patrick on The White Lotus (HBO)
“What a show! I could claim to be surprised to find out he has a nude scene, but what can I say – the apple doesn’t fall far from the tree,” the celeb wrote on Instagram earlier this year.
Patrick again reacted to his dad’s humiliating comment, writing on Twitter simply: “Parents,” with the facepalm emoji.
Meanwhile, Patrick said it was a ‘blessing’ to work on the set of The White Lotus alongside director Mike White.
The actor also revealed in the interview that White had warned him his name came with ‘baggage,’ explaining: “[It’s] the idea that when you have successful parents like I do with you and Mom, there’s an added level of what other people think.
The pair have both laughed about the whole thing (Maya Dehlin Spach/WireImage)
“Mike was worried about, if he cast me, what other people would think. Which they did—they did care about that; people said I got the role because of you and Mom.”
However, despite the critics, fans say Patrick has well and truly earned his stripes on the show which has been renewed for season four.
Seasons one to three of The White Lotus are currently available to watch on HBO Max.Featured Image Credit: YouTube/Variety
