‘White Lotus’ Star Aimee Lou Wood Receives Rare Apology From ‘Saturday Night Live’ For ‘Mean & Unfunny’ Skit

Baila Eve ZismanApril 14, 2025, 2:39 pmUncategorized >

Aimee Lou Wood, known for her character Chelsea on The White Lotus, has received a rare apology from Saturday Night Live following their offensive portrayal of her in a skit over the weekend.

In the sketch, entitled “White POTUS,” several SNL cast members and guest stars impersonated the Trump family and other cabinet members while on a vacation to the resort in Thailand featured in The White Lotus. The Trumps are joined by Chelsea (played by Sarah Sherman), though a much-uglified version of the character with rudely accentuated features, including a pair of buck teeth.

The season has been filled with controversies, including a scene that involved incest.

In the sketch, Jon Hamm, playing Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., states, “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?” Sherman, as Wood, responds, “Fluoride? What’s that?”

In a series of posts to her Instagram stories on Sunday, Wood said, “Whilst in honest mode – I did find it mean and unfunny… such a shame cuz I had such a great time watching it a couple week ago. Yes, take the piss for sure – that’s what the show is about – but there must be a cleverer, less cheap way?”

Later, Wood posted that she had received “thousands of messages” following the skit, saying, “On a positive note, everyone is agreeing with me about it, so I’m glad I said something instead of going in on myself.”

The reaction to the skit earned Wood a private apology from SNL, news of which she shared later that day with the simple statement, “I’ve had apologies from SNL.”

Wood’s natural smile has attracted much attention since the start of The White Lotus’ season three, a public fascination that Wood has said she finds “sad” as it often distracts from her job as an actress and prevents her from speaking about her work.

In an interview with GQ Hype last week, Wood remembered her casting experience: “They said, ‘It had to be you, no matter what HBO said. ’My little head goes: ‘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!’’ That was the thing that was in my head.”

Contrary to Wood’s fears, throughout this last season of The White Lotus, her appearance, particularly her lack of veneers, has been praised as “refreshingly natural” and earned her a slew of admirers.

However, she is still upset by the discussion.

She explained, “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. 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.”

Season three of The White Lotus concluded last week.