Aimee Lou Wood Calls Out SNL’s “Mean & Unfunny” Parody Of Her
“At least get the accent right.”
Not everyone was laughing at Saturday Night Live’s recent spoof of The White Lotus. The live comedy series parodied Season 3 of the hit HBO drama during its April 12 episode, reimagining the show’s main characters as political figures in a sketch called “The White Potus.” But Aimee Lou Wood was upset by how she was portrayed in the scene, sharing her disappointment in a string of Instagram stories shortly after the episode aired.
“I did find the SNL thing mean and unfunny,” Wood wrote. “Yes, take the p*ss for sure - that’s what the show is about but there must be a cleverer, more nuanced, less cheap way?”
In the sketch, SNL cast member Sarah Sherman wore prosthetic teeth and pulled wide-eyed facial expressions to mimic Wood’s White Lotus character, Chelsea. Notably, the portrayal of Chelsea was the only characterization in the scene that was not reimagined as a political figure. During her run on The White Lotus, Wood has been vocal about how she’s been bullied for her teeth in the past.
In numerous Instagram stories, Wood detailed how it was “such a shame” to see how the show decided to caricaturize her in such a way. “At least get the accent right seriously,” Wood wrote, referencing Sherman’s cartoonish inflection in the sketch. “I respect accuracy even if it’s mean.”
The actor pointed out that she was mainly offended by how the scene was meant to skewer political figures, which made her mocking inclusion all the more egregious.
“I am not thin skinned. I actually love being taken the p*ss out of when it’s clever and in good spirits,” Wood wrote. “But the joke was about fluoride. I have big gap teeth not bad teeth. I don’t mind caricature - I understand that’s what SNL is. But the rest of the skit was punching up and I/Chelsea was the only one punched down on.”
In subsequent stories, Wood added that she’d “had apologies from SNL,” and also clarified that she did not blame Sherman for her role in the sketch, but rather just took issue with the concept as a whole.
