Aimee Lou Wood shouldn’t have had to fight back at SNL! They should have known better
This week’s Saturday Night Live took aim at politicians and The White Lotus. But the only cast member from the hit HBO show that really got made fun of was Aimee Lou Wood’s Chelsea and it was not a funny inclusion. Now, the star has called out the show.
The sketch itself was funny up until the jab at Wood. Donald Trump’s (James Austin Johnson) entire family is on vacation. Melania (Chloe Fineman) is suddenly from North Carolina, Eric (Alex Moffat) and Don Jr. (Mikey Day) are talking smoothies, and Ivanka (Scarlett Johansson) is nowhere to be found. Some of Trump’s cabinet is there and Robert F. Kennedy Jr. (Jon Hamm) begins talking about flouride in the water.
It then cuts to Sarah Sherman as Chelsea mocking her teeth. The reality is that Wood’s teeth are not bad. She just has a gap in her tooth. So the fact that they took this as a chance to knock her and acted as if she does not know what “fluoride” is is just a weird addition to this sketch. The only other nod to a cast member from White Lotus was Lizzo as Belinda talking about losing money. Marco Rubio (Marcello Hernandez) is there with Pam Bondi (Ashley Padilla) and then Putin (Beck Bennett) comforts him. So really why Chelsea?!
Wood took to Instagram to share her thoughts on the sketch. She said “Whilst in honest mode – I did find the SNL thing mean and unfunny. Such a shame because I had such a great time watching it a couple weeks ago. Yes, take the piss, for sure – that’s what the show is about – but there must be cleverer, more nuanced, less cheap way?”
She’s right!
I am someone who has an eye disability that I cannot control. I got surgery to fix it but it still is there if I don’t wear glasses or contacts. Wood having to push back against people making fun of her teeth gave me the same feeling I have whenever someone thinks it is cute or funny to make fun of lazy eyes. It hurts to see and it isn’t funny.
Wood having to log onto social media and say that she was hurt by the sketch isn’t okay. I don’t think jokes about someone’s physical appearance are funny anyway but Wood did nothing wrong. She isn’t part of Trump’s cabinet and all it felt like was a cheap shot at her because she has a gap in her teeth that is recognizable.
So many online defended Wood but it still hurts to know that she saw that sketch and was upset by it. If you wanted to include a knock at RFK, why not make that character Cheryl Hines and be more creative? Or add in literally anyone from Trump’s world instead of attacking Wood for no reason?
I’m glad Wood spoke up and many came to her defense. She said that Saturday Night Live apologized to her so hopefully they learn to do better in the future.
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