“Saturday Night Live” star Bowen Yang defended “The White Lotus” star Aimee Lou Wood after the actress criticized the comedy show for a sketch that mocked her appearance.
Last weekend’s “The White Lotus” parody, a prerecorded political spoof dubbed “The White Potus,” ridiculed members of President Donald Trump’s administration and inner circle. In one scene, Sarah Sherman, who portrays Wood’s “White Lotus” character Chelsea, displayed a large set of false teeth while speaking in an exaggerated British accent.
The sketch came less than a week after the season finale of the popular HBO show, a social satire that follows a dysfunctional group of wealthy guests staying at a luxury resort. Hours after the “SNL” parody aired, Wood shared via a series of Instagram stories that she found the sketch “mean and unfunny.”
“Such a shame cuz I had such a great time watching it a couple weeks ago,” Wood wrote. “Yes, take the piss for sure — that’s what the show is about — but their must be a cleverer, more nuanced, less cheap way?”
Yang told Extra on Thursday that Wood’s reaction to the sketch was “completely valid.”
“With parody, you kind of forget the sort of human, emotional cost that it sort of extols on someone,” Yang said, adding that “everyone at ‘SNL’” is a fan of Wood’s and the show.
Wood also shared on Instagram that messages of support have poured in from viewers, and that she’s received “apologies from SNL” as well. Representatives from “SNL” were not immediately available for comment.
In the scene that made her teeth the butt of the joke, Jon Hamm, who plays Robert F. Kennedy Jr., frantically suggests taking fluoride out of the drinking water — something the real Kennedy has stated he’s pursuing — before expressing worries about what that might “do to people’s teeth.”
The sketch then cuts to Sherman’s Chelsea, who shows off her enlarged teeth as she responds, “Fluoride? What’s that?”
In a follow-up Instagram story, Wood said she’s happy to have “taken the piss out of [her] when it’s clever and in good spirits.”
“But the joke was about fluoride. I have big gap teeth not bad teeth,” Wood wrote. “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.”
In the days following the “SNL” parody, Wood posted an Instagram story thanking Sherman for sending along a bouquet of flowers as an apology. The “SNL” comedian had been getting backlash on social media for her portrayal of Wood’s Chelsea.
Yang said in his interview with Extra that the episode was a reminder 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 allowed to say whatever we want.”
Wood has previously expressed her frustration with the conversation around her teeth, which have become a subject of intrigue among some viewers who say they pose a refreshing contrast to the look of Hollywood veneers.
She told GQ earlier this month that while she’s glad her teeth are “symbolizing rebellion and freedom” for some, she’s growing tired of the discussion.
“The whole conversation is just about my teeth, and it makes me a bit sad because I’m not getting to talk about my work. They think it’s nice because they’re not criticizing.” Wood said. “And, I have to go there. … I don’t know if it was a man would we be talking about it this much? It’s still going on about a woman’s appearance.”
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