The White Lotus and Sex Education star Aimee Lou Wood has given us a masterclass in handling unpleasant treatment as a celebrity, after a skit named The White Potus on US sketch comedy show Saturday Night Live depicted her character Chelsea with fake teeth and parodied her performance.
The skit saw James Austin Johnson play Donald Trump, with other stars such as Scarlett Johansson and Jon Hamm also portraying Ivanka Trump and Robert F Kennedy Jr respectively. Aimee posted on her Instagram Story calling the sketch “unfunny and mean”, stating that she felt it was only her and her character who were “punched down on”.
The actor was quick to nip any “women pitted against women” discourse in the bud, adding that the entire situation was down to Sarah Sherman, the comedian and actor who portrayed her in the skit. She stressed that her problem was with the concept, which was a classy thing to do. Sherman wore prosthetic teeth and spoke in a British accent that didn't match Aimee's Mancunian accent.
Aimee wrote: “Actually one last thing. Not Sarah Sherman’s fault. Not hating on her, hating on the concept.”
After confirming she'd had an apology from SNL, she also posted: “The last thing I’ll say on the matter. I am not thin-skinned. I actually love being taken the p*** out of when it’s clever and in good spirits. But the joke was about fluoride. I have big gap teeth not bad teeth. 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.”
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She also shared a comment from a fan which read “It was a sharp and funny skit until it suddenly took a screeching turn into 1970s misogyny”. Aimee added her on take confirming “this sums up my view”.
Since season 3 of The White Lotus aired, there's been much discussion of Aimee's gap-tooth look, which is a huge – ultimately refreshing and natural – contrast to many of Hollywood's veneered smiles. However, she's also spoken out about being questioned about getting her teeth “fixed”, feeling like the overfocus on her looks makes her “sad” and that, ultimately, this situation wouldn't happen to a man.
“It makes me really happy that it’s symbolising rebellion and freedom, but there’s a limit,” she told GQ. “The whole conversation is just about my teeth, and it makes me a bit sad because I’m not getting to talk about my work.”
Aimee Lou Wood also summed up a huge problem – that women in the spotlight are constantly having to answer questions about their lives, choices and looks that their male counterparts don't – perfectly: “I don’t know if it was a man would we be talking about it this much?”
