Bowen Yang stands firmly in support of Aimee Lou Wood, following her vocal critique of a White Lotus parody featured in the latest episode of Saturday Night Live (SNL). During the late-night sketch comedy show, hosted by Jon Hamm that week, SNL poked fun at the season three finale of Mike White's hit series, but with a twist that involved Donald Trump and his inner circle. The sketch saw characters from White Lotus replaced by the president, his family, and cabinet members. However, Wood's White Lotus character, Chelsea, portrayed by Sarah Sherman, remained unchanged, with Sherman donning a pair of fake teeth for comic effect.
Wood had previously deemed the skit "mean and unfunny," calling out Sherman for "punching down" at her character and her British accent. She added, "At least get the accent right, seriously. I respect accuracy, even if it's mean."
In a recent interview with Extra, Yang deemed Wood's reaction to the sketch as "completely valid," stating, "One tends to overlook the human, emotional toll it takes on someone." The SNL star continued, "Everyone at SNL is undoubtedly a fan of the show and of her. We genuinely believe that she should be immensely proud of the work she put into the season; it was, once again, the water cooler television we desperately crave. So, I feel that this is something we sometimes forget, and this serves as a reminder. It appears she has discussed it with those involved in the show, and hopefully, there's a way to move past it."
Yang added, "Occasionally, you need reminders that parody can sometimes cross boundaries, and as comedians, we should take responsibility for that, rather than stubbornly insisting that we have the right to say whatever we want. That's just part of our culture, not political correctness or wokeness, but simply our culture."
After Wood posted her critique on Instagram Stories, she later noted that she "received apologies from SNL." She also mentioned that Sherman sent her flowers as an apology.
