Aimee Lou Wood has said she has no regrets over calling out a ‘mean’ SNL sketch that poked fun at her teeth as she continued filming for Anxious People on Monday.
In the sketch, which included host Jon Hamm, Sarah Sherman wore huge prosthetic teeth as she parodied the actress’s White Lotus character in a skit called White Potus.
Speaking out about the cruel impression, Aimee said she was forced to ‘break the pattern’ after being bullied about her ‘Bugs Bunny’ teeth in school.
She told BBC News: ‘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.’
‘I thought, I have a choice here to go in and be embarrassed about it and just say, “I didn’t like that. It was mean.”‘
The backlash to the skit prompted an apology from Saturday Night Live star Sarah after she came underfire from viewers.
Aimee Lou Wood has said she has no regrets over calling out a ‘mean’ SNL sketch that poked fun at her teeth as she continued filming for Anxious People on Monday (pictured this month)
In the sketch, which included host Jon Hamm, Sarah Sherman wore huge prosthetic teeth as she parodied the actress’s White Lotus character in a skit called White Potus
Aimee added: ‘No matter what chaos came from it, I’m still happy for me and my personal journey that I said something.
‘I’ve gone into meetings with directors that I’ve admired and burst into tears and not been able to say a word and I think that kind of urge is always to correct, to say, “I’m so sorry that I just did something messy,” and actually you didn’t do anything wrong.’
Aimee earned an Emmy nomination for her portrayal of Chelsea in season three of The White Lotus.
This week, swapped her bikini’s for an oversized casual look as she began filming for Anxious People in London.
Aimee was a far cry from her iconic character Chelsea – instead sporting a black beanie as well as an oversized jacket and trousers.
She is set to play in the Christmas-themed movie alongside Hollywood darling Angelina Jolie.
The new film is set the day before Christmas Eve, when and investment banker named Zara (Angelina), ‘begrudgingly finds herself mingling with a group of strangers at an open house.’
Aimee, who plays the ‘reluctant bank robber’, inadvertently takes the strangers hostage as chaos ensues.
Speaking out about the cruel impression, Aimee said she was forced to ‘break the pattern’ after being bullied about her ‘Bugs Bunny’ teeth in school (pictured in The White Lotus)
This week, swapped her bikini’s for an oversized casual look as she began filming for Anxious People in London
Aimee was a far cry from her iconic character Chelsea – instead sporting a black beanie as well as an oversized jacket and trousers
She is set to play in the Christmas-themed movie alongside Hollywood darling Angelina Jolie
The new film is set the day before Christmas Eve, when and investment banker named Zara (Angelina), ‘begrudgingly finds herself mingling with a group of strangers at an open house’
Nothing ultimately goes to Grace’s plan as secrets are revealed and oversharing ensues in the film.
Forster previously adapted Backman’s A Man Called Ove into the 2022 film A Man Called Otto, starring Tom Hanks.
The director will also reunite with David Magee, who adapted A Man Called Otto and Forster’s 2004 film Finding Neverland.
Elsewhere, Aimee said the intensity of her rise to international stardom has meant a past eating disorder has threatened to surface again.
The British actress suffered from bulimia, social anxiety and body dysmorphia as a teenager, and says the stress of being in the spotlight can take a toll on her mental health.
‘I still have moments when I’m really overwhelmed and stressed and I feel it coming back up, like, “I could just take back control by not eating”,’ she told the Radio Times. ‘Then I go, “No, I have to [eat]” and I catch that and try not to get burnt out.’
Aimee said the support of fans has helped her through some of her darker days.
‘It gives me confidence on the days where sometimes that little demon comes back up,’ she said.
She was diagnosed with ADHD last year and is undergoing tests to ascertain whether she is autistic. But, she says, she now realises her neurodiversity is a ‘superpower’ that has made her better at her job.
‘I don’t need everyone to understand me. The people that get me, get me,’ she added.
Eating disorders, including bulimia, anorexia and binge eating disorder, affect some 1.25million people in the UK.
Bulimia, characterised by periods of purging calories via vomiting, exercising or other means, can have deadly effects on the heart if untreated.
The condition is thought to be caused by a combination of factors, including genetic predisposition, personality type and trigger — such as being bullied or starting a diet.
The Mancunian previously said her body image struggles may have been rooted in cruel jibes from classmates in her school years.
In her private secondary school, where she first developed a love of drama, she said she felt out of place with her thick Stockport accent, and was teased about her ‘Bugs Bunny’ teeth.
This led her to believe she wouldn’t be able to land acting roles due to being ‘too weird-looking’.
‘Anyone who’s been bullied knows what it’s like to hear these things, to internalise it and turn it in on yourself and go “If I was just less ugly, just less this, just more this…”,’ she told The Observer.
If you have been affected by anything in this article please contact Samaritans by calling 116 123 or emailing jo@samaritans.org
