Aimee Lou Wood discussed an unexpected gift from a Saturday Night Live star after her portrayal on the show criticized her appearance, intelligence, and accent.
During the weekend broadcast hosted by Jon Hamm, a sketch mocked the 31-year-old’s ‘character’ from The White Lotus. Sarah Sherman showed off prosthetic teeth while exaggerating a British accent and pretending to be unintelligent, which upset Wood.
Wood took to Instagram to express her feelings about the skit. Her fans responded with supportive messages, making sure she was okay.
The sketch, titled ‘The White Potus’ — a pun on POTUS, the acronym for President of the United States — included Hamm’s character asking, “What if we took all the fluoride out of the drinking water? But what would that do to people’s teeth?”
Sherman’s character replied, “Fluoride? What’s that?”
This joke implied Wood neglects dental hygiene, which was contradicted by her clearly well-maintained teeth. Fluoride is a mineral commonly found in toothpaste to prevent tooth decay.
Sherman continued with, “Oh, look, a monkey.”
Hamm’s character then suggested harming the animal, to which Sherman replied, “No, not the monkey,” all while affecting a poor attempt at a Mancunian accent, as Wood is from Stockport, near Manchester, England.
In an effort to make amends, Sherman sent Wood a bouquet of flowers.
Wood acknowledged the gesture on Instagram with, “Thank you for the beautiful flowers @sarahsquirm [Sarah Sherman],” followed by emotional symbols and a love heart.
Wood clarified that she doesn’t blame Sherman for the sketch, writing: “Actually one last thing. Not @sarahsquirm’s fault x not hating on her, hating on the concept x.”
Sharing with her 2.8 million Instagram followers, Wood highlighted that HBO, the producer of The White Lotus, has been supportive, unlike NBC’s SNL.
“But whilst in honest mode – I did find the SNL thing mean and unfunny xo (Felt righteous might delete later x),” Wood expressed.
“So, to conclude today’s rant: @hbo – kind and supportive and never wronged me so leave them alone. @nbcsnl – mean.”
Wood noted she had received a rare apology from SNL after the incident.