Saturday Night Live marked its 50th anniversary season with big-name cameos and nostalgic tributes, but one controversy would not go away despite the celebration. Actress Aimee Lou Wood, who starred in season 2 of the HBO hit The White Lotus, became the subject of debate when the show poked fun at her teeth in a sketch. Months later, she says she doesn’t regret speaking out.
The sketch, featuring SNL cast member Sarah Sherman as Wood, leaned heavily on prosthetics and exaggerated mannerisms to play her character. While it was intended as a send-up of the Trump administration, many felt the sketch went out of its way to reduce Wood to a physical trait rather than recognizing her performance.
Wood took to Instagram to express her disappointment with the sketch. The post quickly went viral, with many fans coming to Wood's defense. And while Saturday Night Live and Sherman eventually apologized, it didn't undo the damage to Wood's feelings.
“I don’t regret saying it because it was breaking a pattern, which is what I would usually do — what I did when I was younger and got bullied,” Wood explained in an interview with BBC News. “No matter what chaos came from it, I’m still happy for me and my personal journey that I said something.”
Often times, celebrities parodied by Saturday Night Live are expected to stay quiet or otherwise risk being called out for not taking a joke. But SNL's attempt to make Wood's appearance the punchline went too far and Wood had an appropriate response.
“I have a choice here to go in and be embarrassed about it and just say ‘I didn’t like that. It was mean,’” Wood recalled. “I’ve gone into meetings with directors that I’ve admired and burst into tears and not been able to say a word and I think that kind of urge is always to correct, to say ‘I’m so sorry that I just did something messy’ and actually you didn’t do anything wrong.”
Sherman later said she felt terrible about Wood’s reaction, emphasizing that no ill-will was intended in her impression. Despite the fallout, Wood’s decision to voice her discomfort drew widespread support from fans and industry peers, who applauded her honesty.
Adding another layer, Wood’s White Lotus co-star Walton Goggins eventually hosted SNL during season 50. He made no mention of the controversy, but Wood publicly supported him and showed no lingering animosity toward the show as a whole.
For SNL, the parody controversy stood out because the season was otherwise a celebration of five decades on the air. And while SNL would likely want to forget it ever happened, Wood has turned it into a positive and a turning point in her career.