“White Lotus” star and fan-favorite Aimee Lou Wood, who played Chelsea in the third season of the hit HBO series, recently criticized “Saturday Night Live” for a “mean and unfunny” sketch that mocked her teeth and smile.
The “White Lotus” “SNL” parody, which aired over the weekend, imagined President Donald Trump, his family and members of his administration as the main cast of the HBO show. In the skit, titled “The White Potus,” host Jon Hamm, who played Robert F. Kennedy Jr., wonders aloud what would happen to people’s teeth if he took all the fluoride out of the drinking water. The camera then pans to cast member Sarah Sherman, who impersonated Wood’s character while wearing prosthetic gapped teeth.
Wood responded to the skit in a series of posts on her Instagram stories. In one post, she wrote that she’s “not thin-skinned” and likes jokes about herself when they’re “clever and in good spirits.” But that “the joke was about fluoride,” she said, adding, “I have big gap teeth, not bad teeth.”
Wood also pointed out that the majority of the skit was “punching up” — it was a primarily politically-focused sketch that took jabs at powerful political figures like Trump and his advisers. She said she was the only one being “punched down.”
She explained in another post that she wasn’t blaming Sherman for the sketch, and only took issue with “the concept” of the joke. She also said that she had received “apologies” from “SNL,” but did not elaborate further.
“The White Lotus” star has received many messages of support from people online since she called out “SNL.” The actor has previously spoken publicly about her teeth on several occasions, and how she’s been bullied for her smile.
She told The Hollywood Reporter last month that her decision to not get veneers — as “White Lotus” fans regularly talked about her teeth — felt “a bit rebellious.”
Sydney Gomez, a licensed clinical social worker with Thriveworks who specializes in self-esteem and coping skills, said that Wood’s decision to “keep her naturally imperfect teeth and embrace it” could help “inspire others who may feel pressured to make changes to meet a standard.”
But the sketch on “SNL” mocking the actor’s smile was a “cheap shot,” Gomez said, and it’s important to remember that “there are so many ways to poke fun at someone that doesn’t cross the line into being hurtful or critical.”
“Negative comments and jokes about someone’s appearance can be highly damaging to someone’s mental health and confidence,” she said. “The whole experience can feel really shameful and impact how comfortable a person is with that aspect of themself.”
And not all societal expectations around appearance “equate to being healthy,” Gomez said.
Gomez pointed out that its important to remember that undergoing any procedure, or making changes to one’s physical appearance, is not accessible for everyone.
“It often requires time and resources, which not everyone has access to,” she said.
Furthermore, some societal expectations about our appearance may not be based on what’s healthiest for every individual.
Dental veneers, for example, have become increasingly popular over the years with many celebrities and influencers on TikTok seeking the cosmetic procedure to enhance their smile. But some people don’t make good candidates for the dental procedure, and some so-called “veneer techs” offering the service for cheaper rates may be putting people at risk for repercussions on their oral health.
“Imperfect teeth could be perfectly healthy, so the suggested or implied changes to meet societal expectations could actually be detrimental to a person’s overall well-being,” Gomez said.
She also pointed out that social media and the “normalization of cosmetic procedures” have helped to create an emphasis in society that people need to fix certain physical features about themselves.
“We see celebrities and influencers pursuing these changes often, even when they are objectively not needed,” she said. “Many content creators film their experiences along the way and give inside looks at the process, which again contributes to the normalization of it all.”
She said that coupled with the plethora of comments online that shame and criticize people for their physical appearances all “adds to the sense that imperfections should be sought out and fixed.”
Celebrating Wood’s teeth is great — but people should be allowed to “exist as themselves,” Gomez said.
Wood has said in several interviews that she’s appreciated the love she’s received from fans for her gapped teeth and smile. But in an interview with GQ published last week, she said there’s a “limit” to how happy she feels that her teeth have symbolized “rebellion and freedom.”
“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,” she said. “They think it’s nice because they’re not criticizing.”
“And, I have to go there … I don’t know if it was a man would we be talking about it this much? It’s still going on about a woman’s appearance,” she added.
We Don’t Work For Billionaires. We Work For You.
Support HuffPost
Already contributed? Log in to hide these messages.
“Having people in the spotlight confidently be themselves is important, and they are brave for facing the possibility of public criticism,” Gomez said. “At the same time, we should also be pushing for a cultural shift, where criticizing and shaming others for their appearance is not the norm.”
“While they are a unique feature, there are probably so many more interesting things about Aimee Lou Wood than her teeth,” she continued. “We should strive towards a society and culture that allows people to exist as themselves without having to feel brave to do so.”
Read the full article here
