Tell Me Lies' Jackson White Weighs in on Thomas Doherty Matching Tattoo Theory — and Reveals Who Gave Him the Tattoo

Mar. 15, 2025

Jackson White (left); Thomas Doherty (right).Photo:John Nacion/WWD via Getty; Amy Sussman/Getty

John Nacion/WWD via Getty; Amy Sussman/Getty

Tell Me Liesfans have been convinced for weeks that the tattoo that bothJackson WhiteandThomas Dohertyhave behind their ear is representative of something — but that’s actually far from true.White appeared on an Oct. 22 episode ofhis mom Katey Sagal’s podcast with Kurt Sutter,Slice of Pie, the 28-year-old actor walked through his collection of tattoos, revealing that his girlfriend and costarGrace Van Patten"gives me tattoos all the time.““Grace gave me this one,” he said, holding up his pinkie finger, before pointing behind his ear as she said, “Grace gave me this one behind my ear.“He then dove into the fan theory that the tattoo behind his ear has some significance toTell Me Lies, because fans noticed that Doherty, who joined the series in season 2, has a tattoo in a similar spot.“I guess there’s a whole story about this online, people think that — cause me and Thomas, who plays Leo onTell Me Lies, we both have this tattoo back here,” White explained.Jackson White on ‘Slice of Pie’ podcast.Kurt Sutter/Slice of Pie PodcastHis mom then inquired if they were, in fact, the same and White confirmed the tattoos are different. “Everyone thinks it is [the same], it’s not,” he said.White then shared the hilarious story behind that specific ink, as he revealed, “Mine is an accident.““Cause I asked Grace — I was like, ‘Grace, give me like a f—ing, like a bat, or something cool.’ And she was like, ‘Okay,'” White recalled. “And then I just heard her like, ‘Uhhh…’ And I was like, ‘What? What?’ She was like, ‘It just…. I think we gotta pivot.'“After Van Patten’s slip-up, White said it was “all messed up, so I just made into stitches, I guess. It’s like a line of stitches.“It would’ve been something had the actors’ tattoos been the same, given that they play rival love interests to Lucy (Van Patten) on the show.Despite the fact thatWhite and Van Patten, 27, are dating in real life, Doherty, 29, told PEOPLE that he had “such an amazing experience” joining the show.Grace Van Patten and Jackson White at the season 2 premiere of Hulu’s “Tell Me Lies”.Gregg Deguire/Variety via Getty"Obviously Jackson and Grace are dating in real life, so I was like, ‘Oh,’ but no,[he] was absolutely professional and as was I, and yeah. It was so chill.““People always say, they’re always like, ‘It’s your job, you’re an actor,'” he continued. “I’m like, ‘Yeah, I know,’ but still, f—ing hell.“Never miss a story — sign up forPEOPLE’s free daily newsletterto stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer​​, from celebrity news to compelling human interest stories.Seasons 1 and 2 ofTell Me Liesare now streaming on Hulu.

Tell Me Liesfans have been convinced for weeks that the tattoo that bothJackson WhiteandThomas Dohertyhave behind their ear is representative of something — but that’s actually far from true.

White appeared on an Oct. 22 episode ofhis mom Katey Sagal’s podcast with Kurt Sutter,Slice of Pie, the 28-year-old actor walked through his collection of tattoos, revealing that his girlfriend and costarGrace Van Patten"gives me tattoos all the time.”

“Grace gave me this one,” he said, holding up his pinkie finger, before pointing behind his ear as she said, “Grace gave me this one behind my ear.”

He then dove into the fan theory that the tattoo behind his ear has some significance toTell Me Lies, because fans noticed that Doherty, who joined the series in season 2, has a tattoo in a similar spot.

“I guess there’s a whole story about this online, people think that — cause me and Thomas, who plays Leo onTell Me Lies, we both have this tattoo back here,” White explained.

Jackson White on ‘Slice of Pie’ podcast.Kurt Sutter/Slice of Pie Podcast

Kurt Sutter/Slice of Pie Podcast

His mom then inquired if they were, in fact, the same and White confirmed the tattoos are different. “Everyone thinks it is [the same], it’s not,” he said.

White then shared the hilarious story behind that specific ink, as he revealed, “Mine is an accident.”

“Cause I asked Grace — I was like, ‘Grace, give me like a f—ing, like a bat, or something cool.’ And she was like, ‘Okay,'” White recalled. “And then I just heard her like, ‘Uhhh…’ And I was like, ‘What? What?’ She was like, ‘It just…. I think we gotta pivot.'”

After Van Patten’s slip-up, White said it was “all messed up, so I just made into stitches, I guess. It’s like a line of stitches.”

It would’ve been something had the actors’ tattoos been the same, given that they play rival love interests to Lucy (Van Patten) on the show.

Despite the fact thatWhite and Van Patten, 27, are dating in real life, Doherty, 29, told PEOPLE that he had “such an amazing experience” joining the show.

Grace Van Patten and Jackson White at the season 2 premiere of Hulu’s “Tell Me Lies”.Gregg Deguire/Variety via Getty

Gregg Deguire/Variety via Getty

“Obviously Jackson and Grace are dating in real life, so I was like, ‘Oh,’ but no,[he] was absolutely professional and as was I, and yeah. It was so chill.”

“People always say, they’re always like, ‘It’s your job, you’re an actor,'” he continued. “I’m like, ‘Yeah, I know,’ but still, f—ing hell.”

Never miss a story — sign up forPEOPLE’s free daily newsletterto stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer​​, from celebrity news to compelling human interest stories.

Seasons 1 and 2 ofTell Me Liesare now streaming on Hulu.

source: people.com