'White Lotus' star slams 'SNL' over 'mean' parody

Fox News

13-04-2025

"The White Lotus" actress Aimee Lou Wood was not impressed by a "Saturday Night Live" sketch which appeared to mock her physical traits.
During a pre-taped skit that aired Saturday, "The White Potus" spoofed the Trump family on vacation in Thailand with key players from the president's administration dropping in and echoing similarities between the sketch and popular HBO series.
"SNL" host Jon Hamm played a concerned Robert Kennedy, Jr., but appeared to be dressed like Walton Goggins' character, Rick, as he shared animated thoughts about the future with Wood's character, Chelsea, played by Sarah Sherman.
"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?"
Sherman donned a long brunette wig and false, over-sized teeth for her Chelsea impression. "Fluoride? What's that?" she asked Rick. "Oh look, a monkey."
"I'm gonna go kill it and eat it," Hamm said before Sherman responded with an enunciated accent, "No, not the monkey!"
Wood aired her grievances online in a series of Instagram stories posted Sunday morning.
"But whilst in honest mode – I did find the SNL thing mean and unfunny xo," she wrote before adding, "Felt righteous might delete later X."
Wood added, "So to conclude today's rant: @hbo - kind and supportive and never wronged me so leave them alone, @nbcsnl - mean."
She continued with her stories, "Such a shame cuz I had such a great time watching it a couple weeks ago. Yes, take the p--s for sure – that's what the show is about - but there must be a cleverer, more nuanced, less cheap way?"
While some fans were impressed with the "SNL" original, social media users voiced concerns with the parody, and blasted "Saturday Night Live" for Sherman's portrayal of Wood.
"Brilliant sketch, except they really didn't have to make fun of Aimee Lou Wood, it's just being horrid to a lovely actress for no reason," one user wrote on Instagram.
"You could have done it without mocking Amy, my Luvs," another user wrote, while another wrote, "I was a little bummed they did that. They did her dirty. Funny sketch excluding that."
One fan commented, "I loved this sketch except that part was not necessary. I think her teeth are perfect and she's gorgeous. I'm sick of Hollywood veneers."
Wood posted a few replies from her direct messages. Fans noted that "SNL" was "clearly" mocking her "appearance/accent," to which Wood wrote, "At least get the accent right seriously. I respect accuracy even if it's mean."
"The White Lotus" star Walter Goggins praised the "SNL" team, and wrote, "Hahahahahhahaha Amazzzingggg" before sharing the sketch on his own Instagram account. "Smashing. Jon … I knew I was miscast."
Later in the day, Wood noted that her voice was heard, and the show reached out. "I've had apologies from SNL," she wrote before sharing behind-the-scenes clips from Mike White's series.