Aimee Lou Wood was not impressed by Saturday Night Live’s parody of her in a recent sketch.
The April 12 episode of the long-running comedy show featured a sketch called White Potus, a satirical sketch parodying HBO’s The White Lotus by reimagining it with prominent political figures.
Scarlett Johansson also made a cameo in the sketch, reviving her portrayal of Ivanka Trump.
Aimee Lou Wood refused to laugh at Saturday Night Live’s recent sketch, White Potus
The satirical smackdown targeted a number of political figures before including a portrayal of Aimee’s White Lotus character, Chelsea, played by SNL cast member Sarah Sherman.
“I did find the SNL thing mean and unfunny,” she wrote in her Instagram Stories.
“Such a shame cuz I had such a great time watching it a couple weeks ago,” she added.
In the sketch, the parodied Chelsea appeared in a short scene with Jon Hamm’s Robert F. Kennedy Jr., who was dressed like Rick, Chelsea’s boyfriend in The White Lotus.
“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?” said the spoofed RFK.
That’s when Sarah’s Chelsea appeared, sporting big false teeth and an exaggerated accent.
“Fluoride? What’s that?” she asked.
SNL cast member Sarah Sherman played the spoofed version of Aimee’s The White Lotus character, Chelsea
After the episode aired, Aimee said she was “not thin-skinned” and understood that SNL was all about “caricature.”
“But the whole joke was about fluoride,” she wrote in one Instagram Story.
“I have big gap teeth, not bad teeth,” she said.
“The rest of the skit was punching up,” she added, “and I/Chelsea was the only one punched down on.”
The Sex Education star believed the script could have been “less cheap.”
“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?” she wrote.
“I/Chelsea was the only one punched down on,” the English actress wrote in an Instagram Story
Aimee wanted to make it clear that she wasn’t “hating on” Sarah for playing the spoofed version of her character but was “hating on the concept.”
However, she did have some criticism for Sarah’s accent in the sketch.
“At least get the accent right, seriously,” she said. “I respect accuracy even if it’s mean.”
The English actress said she “received apologies” from SNL but did not disclose names or specifics about it.
Scarlett Johansson and Lizzo also appeared in the sketch that Aimee criticized online
In addition to Scarlett Johansson’s cameo, the White Potus sketch also featured notable stars like former SNL cast member Beck Bennett as Vladimir Putin, Chloe Fineman as Melania Trump, and Marcello Hernández as Marco Rubio.
Lizzo, who appeared as the musical guest during the episode, played The White Lotus character Natasha Rothwell in the sketch.
A number of netizens sided with Aimee after her social media tirade, with one saying, “Americans just want her to feel bad about her looks.”
“People are so cruel; I think she’s a doll,” one fan said, while another wrote, “It’s just bullying.”
“There is absolutely nothing funny about SNL anymore,” another wrote.
Netizens had mixed reactions to Aimee’s tirade
Others found it “hilarious,” saying, “She has [a] unique look, and they captured it.”
“Take the win and move on,” one said.
Another wrote, “I liked her better when she wasn’t whiny!”
Landing a role in The White Lotus, alongside co-stars Patrick Schwarzenegger, Leslie Bibb, Parker Posey, and Carrie Coon, was her breakthrough into American Hollywood.
“These people live in Hollywood,” she told The Hollywood Reporter. “I live in my little flat in South East London, and I’m so British in my sensibility that I wasn’t sure how to handle being around so many people who are so front-footed and confident.”
She said it felt “rebellious” to defy Hollywood’s beauty standards and embrace her look.
“All I ever do is take the p*ss out of myself. Even the way [White Lotus fans] are talking about me and my teeth — that I don’t have veneers or Botox — it feels a bit rebellious,” she continued.
When she was younger, she used to wonder whether she would land roles because she wasn’t “conventional-looking enough.”
“It’s completely in my head. It’s a myth I’ve told myself,” she told a Stylist in 2020. “I had it in my brain that I’m not conventional-looking enough, and that’s a mental barrier I’ve had to overcome.”
The actress was praised for her portrayal of Chelsea, the girlfriend of Rick, played by Walton Goggins
Aimee has received much acclaim for her portrayal of Chelsea in season 3 of The White Lotus.
Her character’s relationship with Rick, played by her co-star Walton Goggins, has also been widely discussed since the release of Season 3.
Image credits: Saturday Night Live
Aimee highlighted the role of intimacy coordinators in ensuring that the intimate scenes between the seemingly mismatched couple, with a 22-year age gap, were convincing.
“I love intimacy coordinators, and I think they’re absolutely essential,” Aimee told Elle and explained that she and Walton “designed” their intimate scene together.
“We were like, ‘This is what we think should happen. This is why we think it’s important.’ Because we don’t see a lot of tenderness from Rick to Chelsea the rest of the time,” the actress added.
“Being parodied by SNL is still a milestone, I’d think,” a social media user said
