Saturday Night Live comedian Sarah Sherman broke her silence on the White Lotus sketch that received backlash from Aimee Lou Wood for being ‘mean and unfunny’
Saturday Night Live star Sarah Sherman broke her silence after the comedian and producers of the show were criticised for mocking Aimee Lou Wood’s teeth in a White Lotus sketch. The BAFTA winning actress, 31, was left feeling offended and angry after watching the skit which ridiculed her appearance, calling it ‘mean and unfunny’.
The skit saw actress Sarah do an exaggerated impersonation of Aimee while using dramatic prosthetic teeth. The sketch was based on US President Donald Trump and his top team spending time at the fictional White Lotus hotel. Aimee’s character Chelsea, portrayed by cast member Sarah, was seen referencing the actress’s teeth in the scenes as she asks: “Fluoride? What’s that?”
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In response to the skit, Aimee said that she was left questioning her own appearance. She told her Instagram followers: “Whilst in honest mode – I did find the SNL thing mean and unfunny.”
After watching the sketch, Aimee said that she’s ‘not thin-skinned’ and understands that the show’s humour relies on exaggeration and ‘caricature’, but that the whole joke ‘was about fluoride.’ Aimee insisted: “I have big gap teeth, not bad teeth.”
Aimee noted that most of the sketch aimed at those in power and she felt singled out. She continued: “The rest of the skit was punching up, and I/Chelsea was the only one punched down on.” She clarified she wasn’t hitting out at Sarah herself but ‘hating on the concept’ of the sketch.
She even included a comment from a viewer who first found the sketch ‘sharp and funny’ before it took a ‘misogynistic’ turn.
“This sums up my view,” the actress agreed. Aimee also took issue with Sarah’s portrayal of her, and in particular, her voice and her accent: “I respect accuracy even if it’s mean.”
While SNL were quick to apologised for the sketch and even edited the online version, Sarah remained quiet on the controversial topic until now.
Sarah sent Aimee flowers after offending her, which Aimee shared on social media, but she only recently spoke out in an interview with Vanity Fair.
“I was excited to play her because she’s so iconic, her character is so iconic, and I f***ing obviously never meant to hurt anyone’s feelings,” Sarah said.
“Never in a million years did I get into comedy to make anyone upset. I feel terrible that anyone would feel bad,” she added. When asked whether she has to think about the possibilities of offending people while doing sketches, Sarah said: “Totally.”
“The show is in constant dialogue with culture as it’s happening, and it happens really fast. You have to be vigilant, you know what I mean?” the star continued.
“There are a lot of things out of your control. You’re playing a lot of different parts, you’re doing a lot of different roles that you’re not in control of.” She went on to say ‘staying vigilant’ while being part of the show is part of the job.
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