Michelle Monaghan Shuts Down This Fan Theory About The White Lotus Season 3 Killer

Michelle Monaghan is hinting at who isn’t the killer in season 3 of The White Lotus.

During a recent interview on Jimmy Kimmel Live!, the actress, 49, revealed what it was like to work on the HBO hit series.

Now just two weeks away from the finale, she said she has veered away from listening to speculation about how the season ends, but there is one fan theory she hasn’t been able to escape.

“You know, I've just got to debunk a theory out here,” she told host Jimmy Kimmel and his audience. “Guys, the monkeys did not do it!”

Since the beginning, viewers have wondered if the animals, which make an appearance in nearly every scene, have something to do with who dies in the final episode.

“People have gone ape s--- thinking that,” Monaghan laughed.

When Kimmel asked if her character might be the killer, she didn’t have any more spoilers to share.

“Well, I don't know. You’ll have to watch,” she teased. “Maybe I go a little bananas. Maybe.”

This season, Monaghan plays Jaclyn, a self-centered actress treating her two longtime friends Laurie (Carrie Coon) and Kate (Leslie Bibb) to a girls’ trip in Thailand.

At first, Monaghan admitted she wondered if the trio’s storyline was going to be boring compared to the others; Brothers Saxon Ratliff (Patrick Schwarzenegger) and Lochlan Ratliff (Sam Nivola) have a threesome together, for instance. Over time, however, she said she realized the women were far from “boring.”

“The reality is, I think people have really taken to it because it is a very relatable triangulation,” she said, joking, “I mean, I think the moral of the story is don't go on vacation with three friends. Just avoid that number. It's like two or it's four, otherwise they're definitely talking s---.”

Monaghan describes the character as “a butterfly” who is “very dramatic” and obsessed with keeping herself relevant amid fleeting success — although, she noted she has no idea what that is exactly.

“Everybody on the show, like Jason Isaacs, for example, was like ‘What's the show that Jaclyn’s famous for?’” she explained. “And I was like ‘I don't know.’ He's like ‘What do you mean you don't know? You should know.’ Leslie Bibb [asked], ‘What’s the show? What was the hot show? What makes Jaclyn famous?’ And everybody reached out.”

“One night, we're shooting a late-night scene, I asked Mike White, our creator of White Lotus,” Monaghan recalled. “I'm walking with him and I'm like, ‘What's the show that Jaclyn’s so famous for?’ And he goes, ‘I don't know, she's fabulous.’ He didn't know either. And he's like, ‘That doesn't matter.’ And I was like, ‘Alright.’”

Working with White on developing Jaclyn’s persona was one of her favorite parts of working on The White Lotus as well.

“Over 20 years I've been in this industry, and I have never been a part of something as fun as this,” she revealed. “To see how interactive everyone is. Like, it's Jaclyn, I know she's spicy, we all know she's spicy, but I’ve got friends coming in hot about how they feel about her.”

In the March 23 episode, Jaclyn (whose boyfriend has been ignoring her calls back home) had sex with Valentin, a wellness mentor at the White Lotus resort. She was initially trying to set him up with Laurie, which garnered mixed reactions from viewers.

“I can get down with the deed,” she said, sharing that “the golden rule about actors” is “you never judge your character.” She continued, “I think it wasn't so premeditated. I think it was impulsive. But I got a lot of people in my life who feel very differently. I immediately got texts from friends going, ‘Oh my God, Jaclyn is a bitch!’”

“Then I had other girlfriends going like, ‘Woo! Go Jaclyn, go,’” she added. “But the gays were all for it. The gays are like, ‘Go get yours. Like, absolutely go get yours.’ So all the gays out there are rooting for Jaclyn and all of her spicy business.”

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New episodes of The White Lotus season 3 air Sundays at 9 p.m. ET on HBO and Max.