Aimee Lou Wood Calls Out SNL For “Mean & Unfunny” White Lotus Season 3 Parody Sketch

Saturday Night Live is known for parodying shows, but it may have taken it too far when it targeted The White Lotus season 3. In its latest sketch aimed at mocking the current Trump administration, the late night comedy series placed prominent political figures in Thailand. One clip saw Jon Hamm as Robert F. Kennedy Jr. ranting about removing flouride from drinking water, before addressing The White Lotus‘ Chelsea, played by Sarah Sherman in the sketch. Sherman’s version of the character had large, bulging eyes and prominent teeth.

Aimee Lou Wood, who played Chelsea in season 3, lashed out at SNL’s latest parody. On her Instagram, she posted a series of images, arguing that SNL mocked her appearance by targeting her solely to mock her eyes and teeth. While she did not argue against mocking the political figures in the sketch, she noted that she was the only non-politician to suffer mockery in the sketch. She also acknowledged that SNL apologized to her after the episode aired. Check out her posts below:

What The White Lotus Controversy Means For SNL

The Comedy Show Needs To Be More Thoughtful

SNL‘s latest sketch is already deeply controversial, though the show and its viewers are attempting to address this latest misstep. Wood claims that “thousands” of people are coming to her defense on social media, and she shared a few screenshots from some of those supportive viewers. One, in particular, thanked Wood for providing positive representation by joining The White Lotus‘ cast, claiming that it improved their own perspective of their appearance. Given that representatives from the show apologized to Wood, the show should aim to avoid similar issues in the future.

Unfortunately, this is not SNL‘s first step into controversy, especially when it comes to mocking appearances. The show also targeted Chelsea Clinton, stating that she was a “future fox” when she was just 12 years old. Pete Davidson also famously mocked politician Dan Crenshaw’s eyepatch in an episode, though Crenshaw only wears the eyepatch because he experienced a serious injury while on tour in Afghanistan. While SNL has apologized to Wood, this issue could continue in the future, given the show’s history.

Our Take On SNL’s Controversial White Lotus Sketch

Wood Deserved Better From SNL

Satirizing politicians is only natural for a show that is as deeply political as SNL can be, but Wood did nothing to draw ire from the show’s creators. She was the only cast member that the show targeted, and the only reason for her inclusion was to joke about her teeth. The sketch itself was not deeply compelling for anyone unfamiliar with The White Lotus, and the Wood joke meant that even the show’s viewers would find it deeply insulting. It was deeply wrong for the show to isolate her, and it needs to avoid doing so in future episodes.

Source: Aimee Lou Wood / Instagram

Saturday Night Live

8/10

Release Date

October 11, 1975

Showrunner

Lorne Michaels

Directors

Dave Wilson, Don Roy King, Liz Patrick, Andy Warhol, Linda Lee Cadwell, Matthew Meshekoff, Paul Miller, Robert Altman, Robert Smigel

Writers

Will Forte, Bill Hader, Tina Fey, Kristen Wiig, Chris Parnell, Asa Taccone, John Lutz, Tom Schiller, Simon Rich, Michael Patrick O’Brien, Nicki Minaj, Herbert Sargent, Matt Piedmont, John Solomon, Chris Kelly, Alan Zweibel, Kent Sublette, Ari Katcher, Marika Sawyer, Sarah Schnedier, Scott Jung, Justin Franks, Jerrod Bettis, Rhiannon Bryan