British actress Aimee Lou Wood, star of ‘The White Lotus’ Season 3, publicly condemned ‘Saturday Night Live’ (SNL) for a parody she called "mean and unfunny." The sketch, entitled ‘The White POTUS,’ aired on April 12 and had Sarah Sherman imitating Wood's character, Chelsea, with prosthetic, exaggerated teeth and a caricature Manchester accent. The parody created outrage among Wood and her fans, prompting the NBC comedy show to apologize.
The scandalous sketch recast Mike White's hit HBO series by swapping its characters for political leaders, including Donald Trump and his circle. James Austin Johnson played Trump, while Chloe Fineman appeared as Melania Trump with a Southern accent inspired by Victoria Ratliff from the series. Jon Hamm, the guest host of the show, played Robert F. Kennedy Jr., speaking lines on fluoride removal and strange concepts. Sherman's appearance as Chelsea was remarkable for its over-the-top qualities and minimal lines, including: "Fluoride? What's that?
Wood turned to Instagram on Sunday to vent her displeasure. In a series of tweets, she posted: "In all honesty, I found the SNL sketch to be cruel and unfunny." She said, "It's disappointing because I did enjoy watching the show a couple of weeks ago. Of course, humor can be sharp—that's what the show is all about—but surely there are wittier, more clever, and less shallow ways of doing it?" The 31-year-old actress also expressed displeasure with Sherman's accent in the sketch: "At least get the accent right, seriously. I value precision, even if it's unkind," she said in a laughing emoji. Speaking about the attention on her character's dental look, Wood said: "I have big gap teeth, not bad teeth.".
The whole joke was about fluoride." She also added that although most of the sketch "punched up" at politicians, her character was the sole one that experienced "punching down."
In spite of her rant, Wood explained that her annoyance was aimed at the idea and not Sherman herself. "Not Sarah Squirm's fault and not hating on her. Hating on the concept," she wrote.
Wood reported that she had been apologized to by SNL but did not disclose who contacted her. "I've had apologies from SNL," she posted in a subsequent Instagram Story with a mischievous filter. She later said she was relieved she came forward: "I'm glad many feel the same way. I'm happy I spoke out rather than biting my tongue."
The parody also brought forth renewed talk on societal fixation on women's looks. In her latest interview with GQ, Wood spoke about the way remarks about her teeth hijack the subject matter of her work. "If it were a man, would we be talking about it this much?" she asked. While SNL has yet to make a formal statement about the issue, Wood's frank answer has made a positive impact on fans who complimented her for speaking about what they perceived as an uneven representation. Wood appears to be willing to move on for now, saying: "Let's leave it at that."
The scandalous sketch recast Mike White's hit HBO series by swapping its characters for political leaders, including Donald Trump and his circle. James Austin Johnson played Trump, while Chloe Fineman appeared as Melania Trump with a Southern accent inspired by Victoria Ratliff from the series. Jon Hamm, the guest host of the show, played Robert F. Kennedy Jr., speaking lines on fluoride removal and strange concepts. Sherman's appearance as Chelsea was remarkable for its over-the-top qualities and minimal lines, including: "Fluoride? What's that?
Wood turned to Instagram on Sunday to vent her displeasure. In a series of tweets, she posted: "In all honesty, I found the SNL sketch to be cruel and unfunny." She said, "It's disappointing because I did enjoy watching the show a couple of weeks ago. Of course, humor can be sharp—that's what the show is all about—but surely there are wittier, more clever, and less shallow ways of doing it?" The 31-year-old actress also expressed displeasure with Sherman's accent in the sketch: "At least get the accent right, seriously. I value precision, even if it's unkind," she said in a laughing emoji. Speaking about the attention on her character's dental look, Wood said: "I have big gap teeth, not bad teeth.".
The whole joke was about fluoride." She also added that although most of the sketch "punched up" at politicians, her character was the sole one that experienced "punching down."
In spite of her rant, Wood explained that her annoyance was aimed at the idea and not Sherman herself. "Not Sarah Squirm's fault and not hating on her. Hating on the concept," she wrote.
Wood reported that she had been apologized to by SNL but did not disclose who contacted her. "I've had apologies from SNL," she posted in a subsequent Instagram Story with a mischievous filter. She later said she was relieved she came forward: "I'm glad many feel the same way. I'm happy I spoke out rather than biting my tongue."
The parody also brought forth renewed talk on societal fixation on women's looks. In her latest interview with GQ, Wood spoke about the way remarks about her teeth hijack the subject matter of her work. "If it were a man, would we be talking about it this much?" she asked. While SNL has yet to make a formal statement about the issue, Wood's frank answer has made a positive impact on fans who complimented her for speaking about what they perceived as an uneven representation. Wood appears to be willing to move on for now, saying: "Let's leave it at that."
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