‘The White Lotus’ star Aimee Lou Wood slams ‘SNL’ for ‘mean and unfunny’ parody

Aimee Lou Wood isn’t laughing about the “Saturday Night Live” parody of “The White Lotus.”

The actress, who played Chelsea on the HBO series, took to Instagram on Sunday to criticize an “SNL” sketch based on “The White Lotus” that included a joke about her teeth.

“I did find the ‘SNL’ thing mean and unfunny,” Wood, 31, wrote in an Instagram story, adding that she “felt righteous” but “might delete” her post later.

USA TODAY contacted representatives for “SNL” and Wood for comment.

The “SNL” sketch, which aired Saturday, imagined “The White Lotus” Season 3 starring President Donald Trump and his allies. At one point, host Jon Hamm played Secretary of Health and Human Services Robert F. Kennedy Jr., who was slotted into Walton Goggins’ “White Lotus” role and ranted about how he wants to take fluoride out of drinking water. “What would that do to people’s teeth,” he asked.

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The sketch then cut to “SNL” cast member Sarah Sherman, who wore fake teeth and was made to look like Wood’s “White Lotus” character, Chelsea.

On Instagram, Wood described the sketch as “such a shame” and said that while she’s fine with “SNL” making fun of her, there “must be a cleverer, more nuanced, less cheap way” to do so.

She also criticized the accent Sherman used in the sketch, writing, “At least get the accent right seriously. I respect accuracy even if it’s mean.”

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Wood later followed up and said she received “thousands” of messages from people agreeing with her about the sketch. “Glad I said something,” she wrote.

The “Sex Education” star also shared several supportive messages, including one that said the way “SNL” mocked her “appearance/accent” was “uncalled for.” Wood replied, “Correct.”

In another reply to Wood, a follower encouraged her not to delete her original callout. “I have a big gap in my teeth and an overbite and you’ve genuinely made me feel so much better about myself,” the comment said.

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Speaking with GQ in an interview published last week, Wood said the conversation about her gap teeth makes her “a bit sad” because this has received so much attention that “I’m not getting to talk about my work.” She also told the outlet that after learning that “The White Lotus” creator Mike White fought to cast her in the show, her reaction was to think, “HBO didn’t want me. And I know why HBO didn’t want me, it’s because I’m ugly. Mike had to say ‘Please let me have the ugly girl!'”

In an Instagram story Sunday, though, Wood clarified that “nobody at HBO called me ugly,” noting she was only expressing her “own paranoid thought.” She told fans that the network has been nothing but “kind and supportive,” in contrast to “SNL,” which she dubbed “mean.”

This week’s “SNL” sketch wasn’t the show’s first time referencing Wood. Earlier this season, a sketch depicted President Donald Trump telling Secretary of State Marco Rubio that he wants to purchase Thailand because “I’ve been watching ‘White Lotus’ and it looks beautiful. How about the girl with the teeth?”

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