There was a contentious sketch that stirred up anger across the Atlantic about teeth. British celebrities were at the forefront of criticizing the alleged cruel taunting of actress Aimee Lou Wood on Saturday Night Live.
The actress from The White Lotus, whose performance in the HBO series has been somewhat overshadowed by the fixation on her unique smile, seemed to resolve the backlash by stating that she had received an apology.
However, sources revealed to the Daily Mail that executives have not formally said sorry to the 31-year-old British actress. In fact, they have flatly refused to do so, deeming the whole controversy as ‘absurd,’ according to an insider.
‘Far worse has been said about other celebrities and everyone knows that this is what SNL does. It’s comedy. It is meant to entertain,’ the source said.
The sketch in question, named The White Potus, featured SNL cast members portraying the Trump family and various political figures on vacation at the fictional Thai resort.
Walton Goggins’ White Lotus character, Rick, was reimagined as Robert F Kennedy Jr by Jon Hamm who went on a rambling rant about vaccines and questioned what would happen to people’s teeth if ‘all the fluoride [was taken] out of the water.’
The White Lotus star Aimee Lou Wood (pictured) claimed Saturday Night Live issued an apology to her after she slammed a sketch that mocked her teeth
SNL cast member Sarah Sherman (pictured) wore huge prosthetic teeth while parodying Wood, 31, in the ‘White Potus’ sketch, which Wood described as ‘mean and unfunny’
The camera then cut to Wood’s ditzy character Chelsea, played by SNL comedian Sarah Sherman, who was sporting exaggerated buck teeth and asked: ‘Fluoride? What’s that?’
The parody wasn’t received favorably by the Sex Education actress, who took aim at the ‘cheap’ joke in a series of posts shared to Instagram the next day.
‘Whilst in honest mode – I did find the SNL thing mean and unfunny,’ she wrote.
‘Such a shame cuz I had such a great time watching it a couple 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 insisted she is not ‘thin skinned’ but that her issue was with Chelsea being the ‘only one punched down on.’ ‘The joke was about fluoride,’ she wrote, adding: ‘I have big gap teeth not bad teeth.’
Our insider maintained that the sketch ‘was all in good fun’ and in the tradition of SNL ‘roasting celebrities,’ so Wood should not expect an official apology from the show or its parent network, NBC Universal.
‘No one needed her approval,’ they said. ‘If Aimee Lou got an apology, it would have been from someone directly involved in the skit who contacted her to personally apologize.’
A second source explained that although ‘most of the cast and producers find this controversy ridiculous,’ bosses would happily welcome Wood onto the show ‘if she would like to get her so-called revenge.’
However, a source has exclusively revealed that SNL ‘did not issue an official apology and they are not going to’
In the sketch, the camera cut to Aimee’s character Chelsea, played by Sarah, with exaggerated buck teeth, who exclaimed: ‘Fluoride? What’s that?’
Taking to Instagram, the Sex Education star shared her candid thoughts about the sketch over a series of selfies
NBC and SNL did not respond to the Daily Mail’s requests for comment.
Since slamming the show for mocking her appearance, Wood has received an outpouring of support, including from Reese Witherspoon’s media company Hello Sunshine and fellow celebrities Jameela Jamil and Georgia May Jagger who hailed her ‘gorgeous.’
Only days after the divisive SNL joke photos were published of the BAFTA winner in tears and being consoled by fellow actor Ralph Davis.
She then sparked concern with a slew of Instagram Stories about the emotional toll she experienced while filming The White Lotus.
Her posts also referenced how she was ‘bullied’ in the past for her appearance and previously sought ‘therapy’ to help treat her symptoms of ADHD and body image issues.
The British actress has a long history of body image struggles and experienced bulimia during her studies at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art in London.
She recently admitted that she felt too ‘ugly’ to be cast in the Mike White-led series, and worried that her teeth were being seen by viewers as something ‘goofy’ that she hadn’t yet had ‘fixed.’
Wood received an outpouring of support from stars including Jameela Jamil and Georgia May Jagger, who hailed her ‘gorgeous’
In a later post to Instagram Wood clarified that her tears pictured in the media were ‘completely unrelated’ to the SNL sketch.
Wood has expressed her appreciation towards those who have praised her natural smile but has vented that conversations surrounding her appearance are distracting from her performance.
‘It does feel a bit weird that the thing I got bullied for is now the thing that everyone’s, like, “Woo!”‘ she told the Sunday Times’ Culture Magazine. ‘It’s still the thing that’s defining me.
‘It’s, like, cool, and now I want to stop f***ing talking about it. Can I talk about my character? Why am I talking about my gnashers?’
The SNL skit was praised by Goggins, who plays Wood’s on-screen love interest, amid rumors that the co-stars are feuding.
On Instagram the 53-year-old actor raved that the sketch was a ‘SMASHING’ success and applauded host Hamm for his portrayal of RFK Jr.
Fans have cited his once-effusive praise for Wood, which mysteriously dried up as The White Lotus was wrapping up its third season.
Particularly perplexing to some fans was a large number of photos that Goggins posted to Instagram of himself and Wood set to the soundtrack of the famous break up song Silver Springs by Fleetwood Mac.
The SNL skit was praised by Walton Goggins, who plays her on-screen love interest (pictured)
Goggins, 53, raved that the sketch was a ‘SMASHING’ success and he included a message for Jon Hamm, who appeared as Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F Kennedy Jr
His comments come amid swirling rumors that he and Wood are feuding after they appeared to unfollow each other on Instagram
Eagle-eyed social media users have also noticed the two stars no longer follow each other on Instagram.
Just this month Goggins appeared to have tagged several of his costars in behind-the-scenes photos he posted from the series – except for Wood, despite sharing many scenes together.
Although the pair have not publicly addressed any strife, other cast members, including the British actor Jason Isaacs, have hinted at some discord in general during the seven-month shoot in Thailand.
‘Some people got very close, there were friendships that were made and friendships that were lost,’ he told Vulture.
‘They say in the show, “What happens in Thailand stays in Thailand,” but there’s an off-screen White Lotus as well, with fewer deaths but just as much drama.’
