“Treated us like we were morons” — White Lotus exec producer slams former composer over theme song dispute

David Bernad, executive producer of The White Lotus, broke his silence on the ongoing tension and fallout with Cristóbal Tapia de Veer, candidly labeling the HBO series’ composer as a “f****** a**hole” for allegedly treating them like “m*rons.”

In the latest episode of The Daily Beast podcast, Bernad blasted de Veer’s recent public comments about the feud and revealed that he and the soap’s creator, Mike White, were “hurt” by their strained relationship with the melodist.

He also called out de Veer for “[making] it all about himself, where there's a thousand people who have worked really hard to make this show.”

“Him doing that interview kind of blindsided us to be honest,” the executive producer said in a tell-all with the hosts Samantha Bee and Joanna Coles.

“Anytime you’re taking on a creative venture, there’s creative conversations. I think what was so surprising for us was that there was nothing interesting that happened in that experience other than us giving notes to a collaborator, which is the process in every creative venture,” he explained.

Bernad said it was “surprising” that de Veer aimed at him and White in his The New York Times interview earlier this month, where de Veer equated their split to a “rock ‘n’ roll band story.” The composer went on to declare his exit from The White Lotus and that he was “not coming back” for the fourth season.

Getting a hold of de Veer’s tirades, Bernad didn’t hold back in addressing the drama.

“As someone who kind of was there for every moment of that experience, you kind of read this interview and I’m like, ‘What the f*** is this guy talking about?’”

Bernad acknowledged de Veer’s brilliance in spite of the rift, saying that he’s “an incredibly talented person.” However, he railed at the composer by claiming that de Veer “would not listen to us and actually treat(ed) us like we were morons.”

“It was kind of hurtful because I think we went out of our way to be good collaborators to him,” the executive producer claimed.

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“Last fight forever”: Cristóbal Tapia de Veer talks quitting The White Lotus and clashing with Mike White

Cristóbal Tapia de Veer, who crafted the Emmy-winning theme music for the HBO comedy drama, spoke to The New York Times about his creative friction with the series’ creator, Mike White.

According to the TV score composer, White originally wanted “background music” for the soap’s Season 1 intro, with the vision of being “in Ibiza, in some clubby place with a chill, sexy vibe.”

However, de Veer chose to stick to his own vision, which eventually led to a creative discord with the creator.

“He thought it was a good idea. But then Mike cut that — he wasn't happy about that,” de Veer said.

“I mean, at that point, we already had our last fight forever, I think,” the melodist added. “So he was just saying no to anything. So I just uploaded that to my YouTube.”

At the end of Season 3, fans aired out their complaints about the changes to the theme song, urging de Veer to release the original theme song’s longer version on YouTube, the one that had become a hit with viewers.

In his chat with the Times, he reflected on his time with The White Lotus but remained firm in his decision to leave.

“I was watching the Emmys, and it's like, there's one thing I'm pretty proud of and that is I feel like I never gave up,” he said.

“Maybe I was being unprofessional, and for sure, Mike feels that I was always unprofessional to him because I didn't give him what he wanted. But what I gave him did this, you know — did those Emmys, people going crazy,” de Veer added.

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The White Lotus is a dark-comedy drama that follows the lives of resort staff and guests, starring Jennifer Coolidge, Theo James, Aubrey Plaza, Natasha Rothwell, Aimee Lou Wood, and more. Every season takes place at a different White Lotus resort, unraveling tensions and secrets among travelers.

The latest season was set in Thailand and concluded in April 2025.

In January, HBO announced that the series was renewed for Season 4, but the release date is yet to be confirmed.