Aimee Lou Wood clarified on social media that she was not hating on “Saturday Night Live” cast member Sarah Sherman when she called out the show’s “White Lotus” parody for being “mean and unfunny.” Sherman played an exaggerated version of Wood’s Chelsea from “The White Lotus” Season 3 during a pre-taped “SNL” parody video imagining President Donald Trump at the center of the show.
“Last thing I’ll say on the matter. I am not thin skinned,” Wood posted on her Instagram story. “I actually love being taken the piss out of when it’s clever and in good spirits. But the joke was about fluoride. I have big gap teeth not bad teeth. I don’t mind caricature – I understand that’s what ‘SNL’ is. But the rest of the skit was punching up and I/Chelsea was the only one punched down on.”
Wood added in a follow-up post: “Actually one last thing. Not [Sarah Sherman’s] fault. Not hating on her. Hating on the concept.”
“The White Lotus” parody on “SNL” was mostly aimed at Trump and his inner circle as tariffs impact the global economy. It starred James Austin Johnson as the president, Chloe Fineman as Melania Trump, Mikey Day as Donald Trump Jr. and Jon Hamm as Robert F. Kennedy Jr. At one point, Hamm’s RFK Jr., dressed as Walter Goggins’ Rick, said: “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?” The camera then cut to Sherman’s Chelsea with enlarged false teeth. She responded, “Fluoride? What’s that?”
Wood originally called out the sketch on Instagram for being “mean and unfunny” and added: “Such a shame cuz I had such a great time watching it a couple of weeks ago. Yes, take the piss for sure – that’s what the show is about- but there must be a cleverer, more nuanced, less cheap way?” She then revealed she received “thousands of messages” of support after posting her gripes with the parody.
“The White Lotus” parody sketch has earned 3.7 million views and counting on “SNL’s” YouTube channel.