Jennifer Coolidge had an allergic reaction to a spray tan and had to go to the ER

Jennifer Coolidge just won an Emmy for her role in The White Lotus. I liked The White Lotus, but I was surprised how much it cleaned up at the Emmys. Of course, I felt the last season of Ted Lasso was over-rewarded as well, so I guess I just don’t have my finger on the pulse. However, I was thrilled Jennifer won because she’s never won before, and I am loving the Jennissance. And I’m glad it was for her portrayal of looney Tanya because Mike White wrote that role specifically for Jennifer and had to talk her into playing it. Part of the reason Jennifer said no initially is she said she’d been “self-destructing” and didn’t feel good enough about herself. Once Mike talked her into the role, Jennifer had to overcome feeling self-conscious about her appearance, both her weight and how pale she was. So she decided to get a spray tan before showing up in Hawaii. Only something happened and an allergic reaction to the tan used landed her in the ER.

Jennifer Coolidge is revealing how the show accidentally sent her to the emergency room.

The actress, who plays the wildly wealthy and unstable Tanya McQuoid in the hit HBO series, said she had a particularly nasty reaction to a bad spray tan she received before filming began.

“For The White Lotus, I didn’t want to look like a big, white marshmallow on the beach in Hawaii, so I got a spray tan,” she told Allure. “I got on the plane and I started to feel really weird. By the time I got off the flight, I had to go to the emergency room.”

Her sudden health scare prompted production to change her onscreen makeup routine too. “I think we ended up using regular makeup,” she recalled. “The minute we stopped filming, I would shower. I have such a quick reaction to stuff.”

Coolidge added that her makeup allergy is a relatively new development. “I was never someone who cared very much about ingredients,” she said. “Then, I’d say the last five or six years, I started getting allergic. My eyes would always be tearing up, but it never occurred to me that it was my makeup.”

[From Entertainment Weekly]

I think part of my attraction to Jennifer is how many of her antics would happen to me. Like the spray tan I got to make me feel less self-conscious trying to kill me – that’s a Hecate move, for sure. Jennifer lives in New Orleans. A direct flight to Hawaii would be just over eight hours. That’s a long time to not know what’s wrong with you. It’s also a very long time to have a chemical reaction working on you. As they keep reminding us in science class, the skin is the largest organ on our body and if it’s having an adverse reaction at 30,000 feet, that would be frightening. I guess the only good thing is it led to Jennifer realizing she had a makeup allergy, so they were able to adjust her makeup for the shoot.

As has been reported, Jennifer is the only cast member to return for season two of The White Lotus. The next season takes place in Sicily. I’m sure they will have sunny weather, but maybe Jennifer can spend her scenes under an umbrella rather than risk her life for a tan. Or maybe *SPOILER* she’s at this resort to bury Greg and she wears a veil the whole time.

In case any of you are like me and wondering what the name of next season was, The White Lotus is the brand name for the future season hotels and season two is The White Lotus: Blossom Circle. Jennifer filmed a brief teaser for the show in the style of a hotel commercial:

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12 Responses to “Jennifer Coolidge had an allergic reaction to a spray tan and had to go to the ER”

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  1. Lolalola says:

    I cannot believe she has never won an Emmy before?!? Wow, way overdue. I have loved everything this woman has ever done (Bend and Snap, anyone?)…

    • Betsy says:

      Soup. We both love soup. …. We could talk or not talk, for hours.

      • Alessandra says:

        100% this! “It was a shitbox” is another gem from BiS.

        She apparently based that character on someone for whom she used to work 😬

  2. North of Boston says:

    Between the reactions to the spray tanner, make up and apparently lavender soak ingredients (her joke about swelling up during her speech), her skin apparently doesn’t enjoy being slathered with stuff and wants to keep it simple.*

    That flight must have been so scary!

    * my skin reacts to stuff all the time.
    I get so annoyed when I see my go-to “safe” products with “new improved formula” slapped on the label. Because it’s a safe bet it’ll now give me a rash, or swelling or they’ve added some fragrance that will make my eyes water and my nose stuff up.

    • Giddy says:

      I’ve had to use fragrance free detergents for years, or be doomed to itching all day.( I have a silk sleeping cocoon I take for hotels.) But even those manufacturers sometimes slap on “new and improved” labels and I have to test them out.

  3. Anonymous says:

    A lot of places use the all- or mostly-natural nut solutions for the spray tans now. So they usually ask you if you’re allergic to nuts and if you say yes, they switch to a nut-free solution.

    She may have an undiagnosed nut allergy or have developed an adult-onset nut allergy and not know it.

    If so, there may be some nut content in her makeup too. Or other ingredients (like fish oil) that she is allergic too. As the makeup industry has cut out artificial ingredients to get “cleaner”, some other ingredients may have been introduced that she is allergic to, but wasn’t exposed to in that way before.

  4. K says:

    I know this isn’t funny but she makes everything hilarious. I lived catty corner to her in New Orleans and she was lovely. I want all the good things for her ❤️

  5. Britney says:

    I love Jennifer & I’m so glad she shared this! I’ve been in the ER numerous times for reactions to spray tans or self-tanner lotions in the last few years. As a model, I’ve used these products my whole life – I had my own mystic tan booth for many years. However, in the last five years – something has changed in the self-tanning industry ingredients-wise. No one will admit to it even though I’ve spoken to MANY representatives and Government Agencies, but I can tell you without a doubt they are doing something wrong.

    The previous main ingredient was a certain percentage of dihydroxyacetone (DHA), now they’ve either increased the amount of DHA, changed the primary source of the DHA or are including the newly developed “Erythrulose” as an alternative.

    Every single product I’ve tried, from Jergens Natural Glow to Bali Body, California Tan, Clinique, St. Tropez & more has either one of these ingredients – some have BOTH! – and lands me right back in the hospital an hour or 2 after application. I have no known allergies and I’ve been tested by every form of allergy test one can possibly have at Cedars. I’ve resolved to using body makeup and Rhianna’s Fenty Beauty glow products for shoots BUT I just wanted to share this since no one in the industry will cop to it, they tell me it’s completely safe, and I hope to save someone else from having this reaction!

  6. Concern Fae says:

    Another cool thing about skin: there is a very early stage of embryonic development where clumps of cells individuate to become the different parts of your body. One clump becomes your brain and skin. This is why your brain is so reactive to touch and what is going on with your skin – they were literally created from the same set of cells.

    It’s three clumps, but I am forgetting what the other two are. Quick phone googling isn’t finding it. But brain and skin are that deeply connected.

    Glad Jennifer is OK. After being sick or having a reaction, I’ll be sensitive for years.

  7. jferber says:

    SO happy for her much-deserved Emmy and for the Emmy statues for Mike White and Murray Bartlett. INSANELY deserved for all three. They are a triple threat and a GIFT to all TV viewers.

  8. JJS says:

    Love her so much, I can definitely relate to all of her stories. How she felt about her insecurities and Mike White’s love for her just made me love White Lotus even more. That show definitely came out of nowhere, was the perfect covid show and was my favourite thing of the year, I’m glad it got some love!!

    Side thing I noticed, White lotus was really respectful to its female characters. In scenes where they typically might be more exploited for their bodies, especially after watching some Euphoria after, re: Sydney Sweenie. In White lotus, a show set on a beach resort, I never noticed she had such a prominent chest… It was refreshing to see the women treated like that! Low bar I guess. You could really tell through the wardrobe and lighting and angles that they wanted to make Jennifer feel as loved and flattered as possible, and I appreciated that.