Aimee Lou Wood has jokingly confronted the cast of SNL UK after the US version of the show famously aired a skit last year that mocked her teeth. The 32-year-old actress is set to host Saturday Night Live UK this weekend, and in a promo clip for her appearance, she addressed the skit she labelled 'mean and unfunny'.
The Original US Sketch
The original US sketch saw Sarah Sherman play Wood in a scene riffing on her tragicomic The White Lotus character Chelsea, in which the comic wore oversized prosthetic teeth. Wood referenced the fallout with the cast of the UK version of the sketch show, in which she was seen introducing herself to them on set. She said: 'Hey guys, I cannot wait to get started, you know, especially after the whole “thing” in America with my teeth. It’s gonna feel good to just wipe the slate clean.'
A Surprising Twist
However, when she noticed they were all holding their hands in front of their mouths to cover them, the Sex Education star suspected they all had fake teeth in order to poke fun at her. In character, she replied: 'Oh my god have you guys got fake teeth in? Wow, this is all just one big setup to humiliate me then. I thought SNL UK would be different, but I was wrong.' But the cast then pulled their hands away to reveal they were hiding fake moustaches underneath.
Wood's Previous Reaction
The original sketch was titled The White Potus and replaced the season three cast of Mike White’s eat-the-rich drama with Donald Trump and his inner circle. Wood called out the US skit last year, after which she said Sherman sent her flowers and apologised for the spoof sketch, as did SNL. In a series of posts on her Instagram Story after the sketch aired, Wood admitted: 'I did find the SNL thing mean and unfunny.'
She continued: 'Such a shame cos’ 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 and less cheap way?'
Reflecting on the Controversy
Reflecting on the controversy in an interview with BBC News in September, Wood said: 'I don’t regret saying it because it was breaking a pattern, which is what I would usually do – what I did when I was younger and got bullied.' Recalling when she saw the sketch, she added: 'I have a choice here to go in and be embarrassed about it and just say “I didn’t like that. It was mean”.'
Saturday Night Live UK is available to stream on Sky, and airs at 10pm on Saturdays.
