'White Lotus' stars Walton Goggins, Aimee Lou Wood deny feud rumors: 'I love this woman'
Walton Goggins and Aimee Lou Wood are putting those feud rumors to rest once and for all.
The "White Lotus" stars, who played Rick and Chelsea in the HBO drama's third season, denied speculation of bad blood between them in a joint interview with Variety published on Wednesday, June 4. The actors also posed together for several photos featured in the article.
"There is no feud," Goggins told Variety. "I adore, I love this woman madly, and she is so important to me. This is Goldie Hawn. This is Meg Ryan. She can do anything, and she will. You watch what the next 20 years of her experience will be. I'll be on an island, I think Greece. But she's special."
He continued, "There is no feud. She is love and I know that I am that to her. We care about each other very deeply."
Rumors of drama between Wood and Goggins have circulated for weeks, with fans noticing that the actor had unfollowed his former co-star on Instagram.
But Goggins told Variety this was because he "needed to just back away from everyone" after filming Season 3, explaining that it was "a part of me just saying goodbye to this character." But he said he told Wood this would be his process ahead of time, and she was supportive.
In the middle of the conversation, which took place in May, the "Fallout" actor grabbed his phone and followed Wood on Instagram again.
Wood and Goggins also discussed the controversial "Saturday Night Live" sketch about "The White Lotus" that made fun of her teeth, which the actress previously slammed as "mean" and "unfunny." After the sketch aired, Goggins praised it on Instagram and later hosted "SNL" himself, which only further fueled rumors of a feud.
But Wood told Variety she "was so upset" when some people suggested Goggins should not have hosted "SNL" because of the sketch. Goggins, meanwhile, said he shared the clip to compliment Jon Hamm's impression of him, but felt bad when he saw Wood's reaction to the sketch. "You have the most beautiful smile in the world, you know that," he told the actress.
Speculation about drama on the set of "The White Lotus" spread like wildfire after star Jason Isaacs spoke vaguely in multiple interviews to imply there were tensions between some cast members.
In a conversation with Vulture in March, Isaacs said cryptically that "there were friendships that were made and friendships that were lost" on set, adding that "there's an off-screen 'White Lotus' as well, with fewer deaths but just as much drama."
But Isaacs later poked fun at the ensuing fan speculation. In May, he shared a photo of himself with Goggins on Instagram and wrote, "Hey, all you genius online sleuths - see any beef?!!"