The White Lotus actor Aimee Lou Wood has praised Saturday Night Live star Sarah Sherman for the aftermath to a sketch that mocked Wood’s teeth.
During Saturday’s (12 April) episode of the long-running US variety show, Sherman, also known professionally as Sarah Squirm, imitated Wood in a skit parodying The White Lotus.
Performing an inaccurate British accent, Sherman wore fake teeth in imitation of Wood’s much-discussed facial feature, and made a joke about not knowing the meaning of the word “flouride”.
Wood subsequently called out the sketch on social media, describing the depiction of her as “mean and unfunny”.
“Take the p*** for sure – that’s what the show is about – but there must be a cleverer, more nuanced, less cheap way?” she asked.
“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 politically focused sketch, Sherman’s character is seen talking with her older partner, RFK Jr (Jon Hamm), in a dynamic meant to parody that of The White Lotus’s Chelsea (Wood) and the older Rick (Walton Goggins). Donald Trump (James Austin Johnson) is also seen attending the White Lotus-style holiday resort alongside daughter Ivanka (Scarlett Johansson) and commerce secretary Howard Lutnick (Jon Gries).
The actor, 31, subsequently revealed that SNL had apologised to her for the sketch, before disclosing on Tuesday evening (15 April) that Sherman had sent her a bouquet of flowers.
“Thank you for the beautiful flowers,” she wrote in an Instagram story, alongside a picture of the gift.
Wood had previously made clear that she was not directing her ire at Sherman herself, stating that it was “not [Sherman’s] fault”, and that she was “not hating on her”, but instead “hating on the concept” of the sketch.
The White Lotus concluded its divisive third season last week with an action-packed final episode.
Reviewing the finale for The Independent, Adam White wrote: “This was, after all, an often unpleasant eight episodes of television. At its best, it has brimmed with a sticky, slightly suffocating unease, its characters complex, strange and fascinatingly loathsome. At its worst, it has felt like being stuck in a traffic jam on the hottest day of the year.
“It remains unclear whether the show’s sole writer and director, Mike White, intended for this season to be quite so narratively repetitive, with his players cycling through the same conversations for episodes on end. Perhaps that was the (agonising) point? But there’s been enough suggestions in recent weeks of a fraught production – with confirmation of cast fallouts and creative clashes – that I’m convinced this season went a bit awry behind the scenes.”
