The White Lotus Season 3's Natasha Rothwell Responds To Belinda Backlash

In season 3 of the supposed anthology series "The White Lotus" (which creator Mike White set in Thailand after visiting Hawai'i and Italy in the show's first two outings), audiences get to reconnect with Belinda Lindsey (played by Natasha Rothwell), a spa employee who first showed up in Maui back in season 1. Belinda visits the Thailand outpost of the fictional White Lotus chain to learn from the wellness staff there, largely because this location bills itself as being hyper-focused on wellness. However, she ends up getting a lot more than she bargained for. 

I should rephrase that. Belinda ends up quite literally bargaining for $5 million dollars from her old acquaintance Greg Hunt (Jon Gries), whom she met back in Maui, so that she'll continue to keep his many, many secrets. While that's certainly not what Belinda thought would happen in Thailand, that's how everything shook out. So, does Rothwell think Belinda is evil now?

Chatting with People Magazine at a "White Lotus" event on April 24, 2025, Rothwell explained that she still believes in Belinda, essentially saying the beleaguered woman finally got to have a little fun with the whole Greg situation. "I don't think so. I think her heart is good, but I do think that she was flirting with being a baddie by taking this money," Rothwell revealed. "So I don't think she'll turn bad, but I do think there's maybe a consequence by all those decisions have, sort of that yin and yang."

What Rothwell meant by that is that Belinda could eventually face consequences "as a result of the decision she made," but she's also not particularly worried, largely because she has no idea if Belinda will ever be a part of "The White Lotus" again. "Who knows? I don't even know if she's coming back," Rothwell added. "But in my mind I'm like, yeah, that probably would be the thing."

If we're being honest, taking $5 million dollars from Greg — a guy (masquerading in Thailand as "Gary") who likely arranged for his wealthy wife Tanya McQuoid (Jennifer Coolidge) to be killed last season and is now living off her massive fortune — is a sick move, and I applaud Belinda for that. The more complicated situation here, arguably, is how Belinda treats Pornchai (Dom Hetrakul), a wellness expert at the White Lotus in Thailand.

Pornchai is, at first, merely Belinda's mentor, but after the two start spending time together, sparks fly and they end up in bed together ... surprising Belinda's son Zion (Nicholas Duvernay) when he comes to visit his mom at the resort and finds the two waking up after their first tryst. Afterwards, Pornchai approaches Belinda and floats an idea: What if the two of them opened their own spa in Thailand? Certainly, $5 million could have gone a long way towards that goal, but to be completely fair to Belinda, she did just extort that $5 million out of a guy who happens to live there, so it's understandable that she wants to get the heck out of Dodge as quickly as possible. Natasha Rothwell did weigh in on this to People Magazine, and as she put it, Belinda was just looking out for number one: herself.

"People tell me to my face, they're just like, 'Oh, you should have taken Pornchai with you,'" Rothwell revealed. "And I'm like, 'No ma'am, no sir. She does not owe a man anything. She has decentered men. She is centering herself.'"

Honestly, Rothwell is right!!! Sure, this whole thing sucks for Pornchai, but after everything Belinda has been through on "The White Lotus," she absolutely deserves to put herself first. So, what did happen to her before she left Thailand as a new millionaire?

Let's backtrack a little bit and talk about what happens to Belinda in the inaugural season of "The White Lotus" — and how that all comes full circle later with Pornchai. Belinda, as it happens, was pretty friendly with Tanya McQuoid back in Maui; after learning that the wealthy heiress was vacationing in Hawai'i to mourn the loss of her mother, Belinda makes sure to take care of Tanya. When Tanya suggests that she use her fortune to invest in a wellness center owned by Belinda, they're both excited to forge ahead with this plan ... until Greg shows up, whisks Tanya away, and distracts her to the point where she reneges on her deal with Belinda altogether.

Belinda is left devastated by this development, and it's easy to see how it all comes back around later when Belinda ditches Pornchai for greener pastures (pun intended because, you know, money is green). Still, it's really hard to blame Belinda for taking advantage of a situation where she stands to gain a lot after watching her lose back in season 1 — and throughout a lot of season 3, she has legitimate reason to believe that Greg is trying to kill her. Thankfully, that doesn't end up being the case, but Belinda taking the money and running is really understandable, and I'm inclined to agree with Rothwell: It's best, at the end of the season, for Belinda to center herself.

"The White Lotus" is streaming on Max now.