‘The White Lotus’ star Aimee Lou Wood gets apology from ‘SNL’ over “mean and unfunny” parody

The White Lotus star Aimee Lou Wood has received an apology from Saturday Night Live over a “mean and unfunny” parody on the show last weekend (April 12).

• READ MORE: What next for ‘The White Lotus’ after its tragic season three ending

On the latest episode of the show, a spoof sketch aired that saw Sarah Sherman play a version of Wood’s character Chelsea. It revolved around a scenario that included James Austin Johnson’s Donald Trump, Chloe Fineman’s Melania Trump, Mikey Day’s Donald Trump Jr. And Jon Hamm’s Robert F. Kennedy Jr.

Hamm’s RFK was dressed as Walton Goggin’s Rick from The White Lotus – the boyfriend of Chelsea – and he said: “I’ve been having these insane ideas, like what if we took all the fluoride out of the drinking water? What would that do to people’s teeth?”

The camera cut to Sherman’s Chelsea, who was sporting exaggerated false teeth. She replied: “Fluoride? What’s that?”

Wood later took to her Instagram Stories on Sunday (April 13) to respond to the sketch, which she described as “mean and unfunny”.

“Such a shame cuz I had such a great time watching it a couple of weeks ago,” she added. “Yes, take the piss for sure – that’s what the show is about- but there must be a cleverer, more nuanced, less cheap way?”

Now, Wood has received a rare apology from the show. The Sex Education star revealed the news via her Instagram story, writing: “I’ve had apologies from SNL.”

She added: “The last thing I’ll say on the matter. I am not thin-skinned. I actually love being taken the piss out of when it’s clever and in good spirits. 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.

“Actually one last thing. Not Sarah Sherman’s fault. Not hating on her, hating on the concept.”

Wood also shared a comment from a fan who said the skit was comparable to much “1970s misogyny”. “This sums up my view,” Wood added.

Wood has spoken recently about the impact her teeth have had on her acting career, joking that she would not be accepted in a role as an American because of them. “No Americans have my teeth,” she said. “I think that genuinely is one of the things.”

“I played an American in a play in Chicago and afterwards this guy in the bar, he was talking to me and he went, ‘I knew it, I knew it. Your accent was great but I knew you weren’t American. You just don’t look American’.”

Wood has also spoken about the dramatic finale of season three of the HBO show, urging viewers not to consider Chelsea as a “victim”.

“People love Chelsea and now they’re angry that she was put in harm’s way by Rick,” she said. “But she was not put in harm’s way by Rick, she was put in harm’s way by herself. So, she’s not a victim, she’s like many of the tragic heroines that I adore.”

Elsewhere on this week’s SNL, Lizzo performed a medley of ‘Still Bad’ and ‘Love In Real Life’, while wearing a T-shirt with the slogan “TARRIFIED”.

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