Mike White Responds to the ‘White Lotus’ Composer’s Criticism by Publicly Addressing their Feud: Describes It as a Disrespectful Action

Following the intense conclusion of the latest season of The White Lotus, the on-screen drama may have come to an end, but the real drama continues behind the scenes.

The only thing that had an arguably bigger breakout than Jennifer Coolidge on The White Lotus is its iconic theme music.

Recently, Cristobal Tapia de Veer, the show’s composer responsible for the iconic theme and soundtrack of the series, announced his departure prior to the next season. In a candid interview with The New York Times, de Veer openly shared his experiences of creative disagreements with show creator Mike White throughout their collaboration spanning three seasons. He likened White to a “diva” and revealed that he chose to resign without directly informing White.

Reflecting on his decision, de Veer explained, “I decided not to inform Mike initially for various reasons; I thought of revealing it at the last moment to evoke surprise and for other motivations.” However, White eventually learned about de Veer’s departure through other channels.

Now, it seems White has a response for Tapia de Veer. 

In an interview with Howard Stern on his SiriusXM show, White had this to say about the composer’s dramatic exit: “I honestly don’t know what happened, except now I’m reading his interviews because he decides to do some PR campaign about the show.”

White went on to talk about the two’s working dynamic during the first three seasons.

“I just don’t think he respected me. I think he basically wants people to know that he’s edgy and dark and I’m, I don’t know, like I watch reality TV. We never really even fought. He says we feuded. I don’t think I ever had a fight with him, except maybe some emails.”

White explained that it was this issue of respect that caused the division between the two.

“I knew he wasn’t a team player and that he wanted to do it his way. I was thrown that he would go to The New York Times to shit on me and the show three days before the finale. It was kind of a bitch move.”

It seems that all of the hype around the show’s music perhaps went to the composer’s head, if you ask White.

“He’d won Emmys and had his song go viral, so he just did not want to go through the process anymore. He didn’t want to get notes from me. He always had this contemptuous smirk on his face whenever he was dealing with me because I think he just thought I was a chimp.”

Strong words from television’s hottest showrunner right now! He did later say that Tapia de Veer was “very talented.” 

This now leaves us with the question: what will Season 4’s music sound like? Along with this, and a rumored significant switch-up in location for the next outing, is this the sign of a dramatic shift in the show’s tone and trajectory? 

You can stream all three seasons of The White Lotus on Max.