The SNL star who portrayed Aimee Lou Wood in a skit mocking her teeth has spoken out following intense backlash.
The drama began with an April 12 episode of SNL, when Sarah Sherman portrayed Chelsea, the character played by Wood in season three of The White Lotus.
The skit, titled The White Potus, merged HBO’s luxury resort drama with U.S. political chaos, casting Jon Hamm as RFK Jr., Chloe Fineman as Melania Trump, and James Austin Johnson as Donald Trump.
But it was Sherman’s exaggerated take on Chelsea — complete with over-the-top prosthetic teeth — that triggered an avalanche of backlash.
Hamm’s RFK Jr., dressed like Chelsea’s on-screen boyfriend Rick, delivered a bizarre line: “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’s Chelsea responded, with a wide, artificial grin: “Fluoride? What’s that?”
And just like that, things blew up online.
Wood didn’t stay quiet.
Taking to social media, she wrote: “Such a shame cuz I had such a great time watching it a couple of weeks ago. Yes, take the p**s for sure – that’s what the show is about – but there must be a cleverer, more nuanced, less cheap way?”
She continued: “I don’t mind caricature – I understand that’s what SNL is. But the rest of the skit was punching up, and I/Chelsea was the only one punched down on.”
And while she made it clear she wasn’t “thin-skinned” and could handle clever jokes, this one, she said, missed the mark: “The joke was about fluoride. I have big gap teeth, not bad teeth,” she added. “It’s not [Sherman’s] fault… not hating on her. Just hating on the concept.”
Wood thought she received an apology from Sherman via a social media DM, but it turned out the message came from a spoof account, @sarahsquirm_5, not the comedian’s real handle, @sarahsquirm.
“The use of prosthetic teeth and the exaggerated accent weren’t meant as personal attacks, but I get why it felt that way,” read the fake message. Wood posted it — then quickly deleted it after realizing the account was bogus.
But the mix-up didn’t go unresolved for long.
Sherman eventually sent Wood a real peace offering: a bouquet of colorful flowers. Wood shared a picture of the arrangement on her Instagram Stories with the caption: “Thank you for the beautiful flowers @sarahsquirm.”
Now, Sherman is opening up about the sketch — and says she never meant to cause harm.
“I was excited to play her because she’s so iconic, her character is so iconic, and I f**king obviously never meant to hurt anyone’s feelings,” she told Vanity Fair.
“Never in a million years did I get into comedy to make anyone upset. I feel terrible that anyone would feel bad.”
She also acknowledged that, as the show shifts toward parodying more real-life people, it’s a balancing act.
“Totally,” she said. “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? 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. A lot of the process of the show has been, to me — how am I answering this? Staying vigilant but also being a part of the show — that is your job.”