Bowen Yang Responded To Aimee Lou Wood's Criticism Of The "SNL" Parody Of "The White Lotus"
It's been a week since SNL's controversial parody of The White Lotus aired, but it's still dominating the pop cultural conversation.
Brief recap: During last week's Jon Hamm-hosted episode, the long-running sketch show aired a White Lotus parody called "The White POTUS." (Subtlety has never been this show's strong suit.)
Part of the parody involved cast member Sarah Sherman portraying a character that resembled White Lotus cast member Aimee Lou Wood. When Jon Hamm-as-RFK Jr. made a reference to taking fluoride out of drinking water, Sarah's character replied through huge fake teeth, "Fluoride? What's that?"
Aimee was not happy. She took to her IG Story the day after SNL aired to call the portrayal "mean and unfunny," and later claimed that SNL had offered her an apology (which, for what it's worth, there seems to be conflicting reports on).
The backlash more or less stretched across a good part of the last week. Aimee's White Lotus costar Walton Goggins was somehow brought into it, and she also had to issue a new statement after paparazzi photos of her crying made the rounds. Sarah sent her flowers as a peace offering, too.
Now, SNL star Bowen Yang is addressing the controversy — and it sounds like there's no real bad blood between the show and Aimee (at least, not on SNL's end).
'However she reacted to that sketch is completely valid,' he said in an interview with Extra. 'With parody, you kind of forget the sort of human, emotional cost that it sort of extols on someone.'
'Everyone at SNL is just a fan of the show, obviously a fan of her. We just think that she should be so proud of the work that she put into the season, it was just water cooler television again that we desperately have a craving for. I feel like it's this thing that we tend to forget sometimes and this is a reminder and it seems like she has spoken to people at the show about it and hopefully there's room to sort of move on from it.'
Bowen also specified that the entire kerfluffle serves as a reminder to SNL's writers that sometimes their work has an impact that they don't quite expect.
'You need those reminders every now and then that parody can go too far sometimes and that we, as comedians, can take account for that instead of banging our foot and saying that we should be able to say whatever we want,' he said. 'That's just culture, it's not PC or woke culture, it's just culture.'
Maybe this'll be the last of this story...we'll see!
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
an hour ago
- Yahoo
‘The Day of the Jackal' Star Eddie Redmayne on Tackling Iconic Characters, Loving ‘The White Lotus' and the How Acting Is the Perfect Front for a Spy
Though Eddie Redmayne currently stars in 'The Day of the Jackal,' one of the most acclaimed new shows of the year, he still has time to check out other television programs – including the buzzy HBO hit 'The White Lotus.' But the Oscar winner isn't throwing his hat into the casting ring for an upcoming season. 'I'm too paranoid about butchering the things I love,' he tells Variety's Awards Circuit Podcast. 'There are some things you don't want to see yourself in because you don't want to ruin it.' Even the fact that the show shoots in beautiful locations isn't enough to convince the actor. 'You say that, but also you have to be topless for the entire thing. And if you're pasty and moley like me…I just don't think the world needs to see my pallid body.' More from Variety YouTube Star Michelle Khare Successfully Petitions to Join Primetime Emmys With 'Challenge Accepted' (EXCLUSIVE) Julianne Hough on 'Dancing With the Stars,' Her Return to Dance and Why She's Hungrier Than Ever 'The Daily Show's' Ronny Chieng on Recently Becoming a U.S. Citizen: 'It's a Weird Time to Do It' On this episode, Redmayne discusses what drew him to that Peacock series. Also, the Roundtable is coming from New York, as Mike and Clayton recount the week's worth of TV upfront presentations – including Warner Bros. Discovery's decision to reinstate the 'HBO Max' name to Max, and also what was Lady Gaga doing at the YouTube upfront event? Listen below! 'Jackal' has already netted Redmayne nominations from the Golden Globes, Critics Choice and SAG Awards. The spy thriller based on the Frederick Forsyth novel was previously adapted into a 1973 film starring Edward Fox as the titular assassin. Redmayne had grown up watching the film and, as previously noted, was hesitant to take on something he loved. But when he was sent the first three scripts by showrunner Ronan Bennett, he was quickly actor notes that having come up in the theater, he was somewhat accustomed to taking on roles previously played by others – such as in the film adaptation of 'Les Misérables' or his recent, Olivier Award-winning, Tony-nominated turn as the Emcee in 'Cabaret,' which he cites as the role that 'got me into acting.' In fact, recreating a role is part of a long tradition in the theater. 'But that's the same whenever you play Shakespeare part, you know?' he notes. 'I did 'Richard II' at the Donmar Warehouse and there was literally the Richard II seat where all the other actors who had played Richard – Ian McKellan, Derek Jacobi, Ben Whishaw – would come and sit in the seat. It was always, 'Oh Christ, there's another icon!''Redmayne finds himself in that position now as a producer on 'Cabaret,' which is continuing runs both on Broadway and the West End. He often returns to see the other actors, from Billy Porter to Mason Alexander Park. 'I've taken such joy going back and watching them all,' he said. 'Seeing how every different Emcee and Sally brings their own individuality and own kind of charisma to the part.' Redmayne himself garnered quite the response when he performed the opening number on last year's Tony Awards, as viewers got the see the sinister, marionette-like Emcee in close-up. One comment referred to him as 'my sleep paralysis demon,' which is a testament to how unsettling the character is supposed to be. 'I don't know if that was meant to be taken as a positive, but I took it as a positive,' Redmayne reveals. 'I saw him as a grotesque, and he's meant to make you feel uncanny and uncomfortable. There was a sort of puppeteering quality to him – was he the puppet or was he the puppeteer?'It was actually when Redmayne was doing 'Cabaret' in London that 'Jackal' came to him – and the timing was impeccable, as the actor had been toying with an idea for a series. 'One of the weird things about doing theater is every night, someone extraordinary would come and see the show – politicians or the Royal Family or actors – and you'd meet them,' he recalls. 'And I thought, Wouldn't it be interesting if you had a sort of actor who was sort of a spy, but living in plain sight? And had access to all these people. It was an idea that was germinating. And then this arrived.' Redmayne calls the role 'an actor's dream,' noting 'all the stuff that we all love -getting to change your voice and do accents and do languages and change the way you look – it had everything.' Of all the people who visited Redmayne backstage, he was most caught off guard by Janet Jackson coming to his dressing room, noting that he and the cast were 'completely obsessed.' He adds, 'I think she's such an inspiring performer, and I just couldn't get over the fact that she loved the show and kept coming back.' Variety's 'Awards Circuit' podcast, hosted by Clayton Davis, Jazz Tangcay, Emily Longeretta, Jenelle Riley and Michael Schneider, who also produces, is your one-stop source for lively conversations about the best in film and television. Each episode, 'Awards Circuit' features interviews with top film and TV talent and creatives, discussions and debates about awards races and industry headlines, and much more. Subscribe via Apple Podcasts, Stitcher, Spotify or anywhere you download podcasts. Best of Variety New Movies Out Now in Theaters: What to See This Week Emmy Predictions: Apple Holds Strong for Top Series Races With 'Severance' and 'The Studio'; Netflix and FX Could Dominate Doc and Writing Races Emmy Predictions: Talk/Scripted Variety Series - The Variety Categories Are Still a Mess; Netflix, Dropout, and 'Hot Ones' Stir Up Buzz
Yahoo
4 hours ago
- Yahoo
HBO and CNN owner Warner Bros Discovery to split in two
The owner of CNN and HBO Max, Warner Bros Discovery, says it will split into two companies by the middle of next year. The US media giant plans to separate its studio and streaming business away from its more traditional cable television networks. The move comes as streaming services attract hundreds of millions of users around the world but cable TV has seen audiences decline in recent years. HBO Max has enjoyed success with shows including Succession, The White Lotus and The Last of Us - while channels like CNN have been losing viewers. These hit shows will soon come under a new Streaming & Studios business, along with the company's film division and be headed by Mr Zaslav. The other new company will be called Global Networks - with CNN, Discovery and TNT Sports amongst its brands. This business will be led by Warner Bros Discovery's chief financial officer, Gunnar Wiedenfels. "We are empowering these iconic brands with the sharper focus and strategic flexibility they need to compete most effectively in today's evolving media landscape", said David Zaslav, Warner Bros Discovery president and chief executive. The splitting of the media conglomerate follows the 2022 merger that created Warner Bros Discovery. News of the split did little to improve Warner Bros Discovery's stock market performance. Shares were down nearly 3% in trading on Monday, with the stock down more than 10% this year. Peter Jankovskis, an analyst at Arbor Financial Services, said the split would help investors get a better understanding of each new company's value. "When you make the business less complicated, analysts can go in and do a better job of determining what the business is actually worth," he told the BBC. Warner Bros Discovery's flagship news channel, CNN, has seen its ratings decline. It averaged 558,000 viewers during primetime hours in the first three months of this year, 6% lower than the same period in 2024. In January, the network announced that it was laying off more than 200 employees as it looks to focus on its digital offerings. The outlook is brighter for Warner Bros Discovery's streaming platforms, which ended the first quarter of this year with more than 122 million subscribers. Monday's breakup announcement came after rival media giant Comcast announced last year that it would spin off its NBCUniversal cable television arm. That breakup is currently underway, with channels such as MSNBC and CNBC being separated from Comcast's other brands, including its Peacock streaming service. "It's a very competitive market right now, so many firms are trying to segregate out the streaming portion or the content portion of their businesses so that the remaining business can be valued separately", said Mr Jankovskis. Sign in to access your portfolio
Yahoo
5 hours ago
- Yahoo
Ruthless Ending of ‘The Penguin' Makes a Potential Season 2 'More Difficult,' Says Colin Farrell
A frigid environment is befitting of a television show titled The Penguin, but the chilly conditions of its set had no bearing on the story being told. It was simply the manner in which series lead Colin Farrell preserved the three hours' worth of prosthetic makeup needed to transform him into Oswald 'The Penguin' Cobb. 'I was totally encased as Oz, and it was incredibly hot underneath all the prosthetics,' recalls Farrell. More from The Hollywood Reporter Hollywood Flashback: The Moment 'SNL' Started Sweeping the Guest Acting Awards Inside Cynthia Erivo's Tonys Afterparty: "I Think We Should All Dance Now" 'Hamilton' Original Cast Reunites for Tony Awards Medley - Watch Between the 2 pounds of silicone rubber fastened to his head and a 30-pound bodysuit, the Irish actor was constantly overheating while playing his ambitious Gotham City gangster. There was even a stretch in the winter of 2023 where the eight-episode HBO series' New York City-area soundstage had the air conditioning cranked full blast, prompting the crew to don winter attire indoors. Eventually, the team set up a camping tent nicknamed 'the Igloo' for Farrell to cool off in between setups and takes. 'We had three industrial air conditioners funnel freezing cold air into it,' he says of the situation, adding, 'It wasn't fair that the crew had to [previously] wear fucking snow-goose expedition coats and scarves.' Farrell's iteration of the storied baddie originated in Matt Reeves' The Batman (2022), which kick-started its own 'Elseworlds' crime saga, without any connection to the shared DC universe that DC Studios co-CEOs James Gunn and Peter Safran have since rebooted. Reeves, as well as the feature script he co-authored with Peter Craig, provided prosthetic designer Mike Marino with the basic parameters for the appearance of Oz (played by Farrell), one that became a rougher-around-the-edges take on Tony Soprano, but with the underlying desperation of Fredo Corleone, and some birdlike features to honor Oz's unwelcome moniker. Marino and a half dozen of his fellow artists transformed Farrell roughly 90 times over the course of The Penguin, three times the amount of sessions they'd completed on The Batman. And despite headlines to the contrary, Marino insists that the leading man reveled in the 150- to 200-step makeup process that often began at 2 a.m. 'There are a couple of interviews where Colin said, 'Oh my God, I hated it,' but he's just bullshitting. He loved it. We had so much fun doing it, and he's the perfect person to wear makeup,' states Marino, something Farrell reaffirms. 'It was a beautiful time, to be honest. I've never felt such little total ownership over a character as I do over Oz, because of the village that came together to bring him to life.' Knowing Farrell was keen to dive deeper into his Batman supporting character, HBO Max put the spinoff series into development during the pandemic-era streaming boom. Showrunner Lauren LeFranc was tasked by executive producer Reeves to create a bridge to the upcoming The Batman Part II and turn one of the most recognizable villains from Batman's rogues gallery into a relatively sympathetic protagonist (until he isn't). That meant introducing the audience to Oz's minuscule inner circle, composed first and foremost of his dementia-stricken mother, Francis Cobb (Deirdre O'Connell). 'The key to any character I write is finding empathy, and that really started with Oz's mother. It made a lot of sense to me that he would have a very complicated relationship with her,' says LeFranc. 'He's desperate for acceptance from the masses, but predominantly, he's striving to find acceptance and love from his mother.' LeFranc also established his season-long sidekick, Victor 'Vic' Aguilar (Rhenzy Feliz), after Vic and four other teenagers attempt to steal the rims off Oz's plum Maserati. Vic, who lost his family a week earlier when the Riddler (Paul Dano) bombed Gotham City's seawall, attempts to explain himself, but his stutter interferes. Oz, having his own disability, appears to feel some degree of compassion for the 17-year-old orphan. 'I hadn't gotten to see a lot of vulnerable characters like Victor in a crime drama or a genre comic book show. I'm half-Mexican, and I wanted a character that came from a loving half-Mexican, half-Dominican family,' LeFranc shares. Oz then recognizes an opportunity to audition Vic as a jack-of-all-trades amid his bid to grab power following the Riddler's murder of Gotham's most notorious crime lord (and Oz's boss), Carmine Falcone (John Turturro), in The Batman. His first assignment is to help Oz move the body of Carmine's son, Alberto Falcone (Michael Zegen), whom Oz rashly murdered after the heir apparent to the Falcone crime family mocked Oz's desire to be remembered like a neighborhood mobster from his youth. The crew's department heads had their own unique challenge in both re-creating and expanding the Gotham City of Reeves' Liverpool-shot Batman feature on a TV schedule and budget in New York City. Fortunately, there was synergy between the productions, starting with Reeves and the film's DP Greig Fraser, who provided Craig Zobel, director of Penguin episodes one through three, with tech specs for camera gear, lenses and lighting. Production designer Kalina Ivanov and visual effects supervisor Johnny Han also received assets from their Batman counterparts to help reconstruct sets like the Iceberg Lounge using VFX. Han went through all the dailies for The Batman and found shots of the Oz-run nightclub to use as plates, as in an image that can be used to replace a greenscreen backdrop. 'Dan Lemmon, a VFX supervisor on The Batman, also gave me a mini-backstory on every visual effects shot from the movie. It was such a nice handing of the torch,' says Han. The Batman (Robert Pattinson) oversees Gotham from above, and so Reeves and LeFranc decided that the Penguin would attempt to rule the underworld from below. 'They wanted to make The French Connection, which immediately grounded the project under bridges, overpasses and elevated subway tracks,' Ivanov says. 'We also went for very unusual geography, so we stayed away from Manhattan as much as we could.' If Oz was going to serve as a temporary protagonist, then the limited series needed a primary antagonist who could admirably go toe to toe with him, and that's where Cristin Milioti's Sofia Falcone enters the equation. Growing up in New Jersey, Milioti played make-believe as Batman villains in her backyard, so she immediately became enamored with the role of Sofia and understood the high bar that's been set by Gotham, New Jersey's many colorful villains. 'I've wanted to play a Batman villain my whole life,' says Milioti. 'There was a constant pressure — that was also very self-inflicted — to do it justice.' Sofia spent the last decade in Arkham Asylum after confronting her father, Carmine (portrayed by Mark Strong on The Penguin), about his complicity in her mother's staged suicide. Her then-driver, Oz, had already blown the whistle to the mob boss about his daughter's interactions with a member of the press, and so Carmine framed his daughter for the reporter's corresponding death and several other of his serial killings as 'The Hangman.' Tragically, the charitable woman who entered Arkham against her will left as someone else due to unnecessary electroshock therapy and generally inhumane circumstances. Upon release, one of her first orders of business was to slaughter the extended Falcone mob who aided Carmine's wrongful conviction of her. 'One of the worst feelings in the world is the feeling of being disposable, and that's what happens to Sofia on such a massive level,' says Milioti. 'I hoped that the audience would be on her side when she blossoms into this full villain because you really understand why she does what she does.' Helen Shaver — who directed Sofia's origin story and present-day takeover of her father's crime ring in the John McCutcheon-penned fourth episode 'Cent'Anni' — says the filming of the rather harrowing chapter was the polar opposite of what one might expect. 'The opportunity to make that terrible betrayal by Oz and Carmine the bedrock from which this iconic character grows was very joyful,' Shaver shares. 'As great as the Penguin is, Sofia makes him a greater character.' To make matters worse for Sofia, the one person who refuses to turn their back on her, her brother, Alberto, disappears. Despite initially suspecting that Oz was involved, his subsequent death is pinned on the rival Maroni family, courtesy of Oz and Victor's machinations, in the series premiere. Moments before her grisly discovery of Alberto's body, Sofia tortures an unclothed Oz, which tested Marino's team to the nth degree, significantly upping the already three-hour prosthetic application time. 'The daytime is the hardest difficulty for a prosthetic. Any flaws can be seen in daylight,' recalls Marino. 'Colin was wearing this totally naked suit that's covered in hair and scars, and he was sweating in a burning hot greenhouse while tied up to a chair. It was the most challenging day.' Oz's opening chess move involving Alberto began an all-out war for control of Gotham's drug market with ever-changing alliances. Sofia eventually receives confirmation that Oz murdered her brother, and based on a tip from Oz's lover, Eve (Carmen Ejogo), she abducts Francis for leverage. Oz had previously pretended his mother was dead in order to protect her from the type of blowback that comes with his affiliations. With the help of Sofia's Arkham ally Dr. Rush (Theo Rossi), she gleans through Francis that Oz was responsible for the deaths of his older and younger brothers, Jack and Benny, in 1988. Oz is then forced to face the truth or else Sofia will maim his mother, but he still wouldn't come clean, leading Francis to stab him in the gut and forsake him before suffering a catastrophic stroke. 'Sofia understands that the gravest injury you can administer to someone is mental because you can't escape that,' says Milioti. Frustrated by his brothers' insensitivity to his clubfoot during a fateful game of hide-and-seek, Young Oz's lack of impulse control factored into his decision to trap Jack and Benny in a water overflow tunnel. This is the same impulsivity that led him to murder Alberto Falcone three-plus decades later. Farrell knows Young Oz is responsible for the demise of his brothers, but he offers him some benefit of the doubt, at least until he allows hours to go by without sounding the alarm to his mother. 'I'm not excusing him, don't get me wrong, but he wasn't an architectural fucking engineer when he was 10,' says Farrell. 'I don't think he necessarily knew that, in closing one sewer gate, it was going to be hermetically sealed and the water was going to rise twenty feet, killing his brothers.' Reeling from his mother's newly persistent vegetative state and how Sofia exposed his Achilles' heel through her, Oz decides that family of any kind is only going to hold him back from achieving true kingpin status. Thus, in the series' most gut-wrenching moment, he strangles Victor to death just after the young man expressed gratitude for their found family. 'He's always been this man. We've just been a little bit forgiving of him,' says LeFranc. 'When Oz kills Victor, it's like he's ripping his own heart out, and it's appalling. There's no justification for it. I hope that it leaves the audience to question why we ever trusted a man like this.' Farrell, despite being 'nowhere close' to starting prep work, will next reprise his character in the long-gestating The Batman Part II. He also notes it would be hard to reposition Oz as a protagonist in a potential Penguin season two after ruthlessly murdering the pure-hearted Victor and contributing to his own mother's unresponsiveness. 'I certainly think it makes [a second season] more difficult. [Killing Vic] is a very hard thing to claw back from,' says Farrell. 'It's not impossible, but it's a tougher hill to climb.' As for the physical impact the show had on him, one of the somewhat overlooked details in Farrell's performance is his Penguin-like waddle because of Oz's clubbed right foot. Farrell had to wear a supportive leg brace for full effect. 'I wasn't as smart as I could have been, which is not the first time I've said that in relation to work or life,' jokes Farrell. 'I did have some issues with my hips for a while, and my pelvis was a bit out of line, but I sorted it out afterward.' In an era where the limited series is cheekily referred to as the new pilot, Milioti is excited about her character's still-undetermined future, whether that's a Penguin season two, The Batman Part II or a Sofia-led series that explores a relationship with her recently revealed half-sister, Selina Kyle (The Batman's Zoë Kravitz). In the concluding moments of the finale, Sofia receives a letter from Selina, providing her with a glimmer of hope after Oz finagled her readmittance to Arkham. 'I would love to continue to play Sofia in any way,' says Milioti. 'I would also love to see Sofia and Selina team up and wreak complete and utter havoc on Gotham. I don't think we've ever seen that in the Batman universe.' A version of this story first appeared in a June stand-alone issue of The Hollywood Reporter magazine. To receive the magazine, click here to subscribe. Best of The Hollywood Reporter 'The Studio': 30 Famous Faces Who Play (a Version of) Themselves in the Hollywood-Based Series 22 of the Most Shocking Character Deaths in Television History A 'Star Wars' Timeline: All the Movies and TV Shows in the Franchise
