White Lotus Blowout, “Skinny Discount” Backlash, & Departin' from Parton?

The Headlines:

• White Lotus Finale Smashes Viewership Record

• Thai Restaurant’s “Skinny Discount” Sparks Outrage

• Dolly Parton Airport? Petition Gains Traction

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White Lotus Ends with a Bang—Literally

The Season 3 finale of HBO’s The White Lotus drew 6.2 million viewers, setting a new record and blowing past the previous high by 30%. The finale, which included a dramatic shootout (because of course it did), officially cements White Lotus as a cultural obsession with no signs of slowing down.

So if you haven’t binged yet… what are you even doing?
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Restaurant’s “Skinny Discount” Is a Tight Squeeze—Literally

A restaurant in Chiang Mai, Thailand is catching heat for its “skinny discount”: customers get a percentage off their meal depending on how narrow a gap they can squeeze through at the entrance.

• Smallest gap = 20% off

• Bigger gaps = smaller discounts

Some are calling it a fun, physical challenge. Others say it’s body-shaming and discriminatory, especially for those who can’t (or shouldn’t have to) wedge themselves through bars to save on dinner. The backlash is building, and the restaurant has yet to respond.

Source

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Departin’ from Parton? Petition Pushes for Dolly Airport

A growing Change.org petition is asking to rename Nashville International Airport to Dolly Parton International Airport—because honestly, why shouldn’t the Queen of Country have her name on the jetway?

• Petition started in January

• Has now racked up 47,000+ signatures

• Suggestions include catchphrases like “Departin’ from Parton” and the airport being open

Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
Give us three minutes and we'll give you everything you

(00:01):
need to know for the day with Nina's what's trending.

Speaker 2 (00:03):
No surprise that there's an uptick in traveling to Thailand
thanks to the White Lotus. So if you haven't watched
six point two million viewers, did watch the season three finale,
so you can be like Jubil and find the cliff notes.

Speaker 1 (00:17):
I want to just find a recap so I can
be in the.

Speaker 3 (00:21):
Yeah, I think you should watch all three seasons, man, reap.
I think of them. I think you really like them. Yeah,
I do too, but I'm three caps yeah behind.

Speaker 2 (00:34):
So if you get like, if you do all the
recaps up to like three or four episodes behind, then
you'll be where I am.

Speaker 1 (00:39):
And I want to watch the first you said three seasons, yeah,
the first three on recap.

Speaker 3 (00:44):
And then is that a catch up to this one?
Is that a really race? I don't know. You're just
saying that recap okay.

Speaker 2 (00:50):
You can start a new website ready for recap. I
watched on recap okay, But once you get caught up
on recap, then you're gonn. I probably want to go
to Thailand too. But the interesting thing is there's a
restaurant it's actually kind of controversial in Thailand that's offering
a skinny discount, and it's actually kind of crazy how
they have it. So you will get twenty percent off

(01:13):
of whatever you order if you can squeeze through a
series of bars set up at the entrance. The narrower
gap that you can fit through, the bigger the discount.

Speaker 3 (01:23):
That's kind of fun.

Speaker 1 (01:25):
I mean, I know it never work here in America,
but definitely whatever through.

Speaker 3 (01:30):
Yeah, the first set of bars would just be a door.

Speaker 2 (01:33):
Can't we just like go back to like the old
fashioned like what's it called limbo like that kind of
a thing instead of trying to squeeze through to be skinny,
just be bendy.

Speaker 3 (01:41):
I mean, why is it skinny?

Speaker 2 (01:43):
Yeah, they are just calling it the skinny discount. They're
going to make these ards. No, no, I brought up
White Lotus because it's in Thailand.

Speaker 4 (01:50):
Oh, although I will say when shows like this happen,
tourism skyrockets to these places and then we all ruin it.
But we've probably discovered this restaurant because there's more people
going and paying attention.

Speaker 2 (02:04):
And it's also a gimmick because if they know people
are coming, they want to give them a reason to
show up, because even if you think it's ridiculous, who
doesn't want to go watch people?

Speaker 1 (02:13):
More Americans are going there, and they're angry.

Speaker 3 (02:23):
That we're going to bubble gum shrimp.

Speaker 1 (02:29):
Well, speaking about America to Thailand, it's not one single
TGI Friday, Oh my.

Speaker 3 (02:36):
Gosh, No, back to the great old US.

Speaker 2 (02:40):
So in Nashville, there's a new petition that's going around
to change the name of the airport.

Speaker 3 (02:44):
Have you guys seen this?

Speaker 2 (02:45):
They want to name it after Dolly Parton so people
can go and say they they're departing from Parton Way.

Speaker 3 (02:51):
I like that too. It's got a really cute ring.

Speaker 2 (02:54):
But there's like over fifty thousand people who have signed
this petition to change the name of it.

Speaker 3 (03:00):
What's the name of it now, Nashville Airport? Yeah, or
isn't it like be something I don't know. I'm not sure.
I don't really learn about to have fifty thousand and.

Speaker 2 (03:10):
One again signature the Nashville airport, the one in Nashville,
and they want to call it Dolly Parton International Airport,
so you'd be departing from Parton.

Speaker 3 (03:18):
I would wear that T shirt. I would wear that
T shirt. That's so honestly, their.

Speaker 1 (03:23):
Official name is just the Nashville International Airport.

Speaker 3 (03:25):
Yeah, change it. That's boring. Yeah, there's no reason not
to name it nameless.

Speaker 2 (03:29):
Exactly mean for a name. Parting from parton, y'all okay.
And lastly, this is only played Lollyton like the Gate,
like Triple D thirty eight.

Speaker 4 (03:46):
It would be like the best gate at that one.

Speaker 3 (03:51):
All kinds of terminal. It makes so much more money
if they did that, Wally Fun Yeah, I like it.
Turned the airport to a theme park, essentially adult Dollywood.
There is. If you'd like to sign that, just google it.
I don't have the lank, but that's what's trending.