SNL’s Sarah Sherman Responds To Her Hurtful Aimee Lou Wood Impression

Saturday Night Live has taken the world by storm since the 1970s. It has been a pop culture staple; poking fun at celebrities, while simultaneously acting as a stepping stone for many of them. Over the years, many stars have made appearances on the sketch comedy television series. These stars often poke fun at themselves and delight audiences in their ability to not take themselves so seriously.

However, while some famous faces embrace this medium, others reject it and take the jokes personally. The White Lotus actress Aimee Lou Wood was recently parodied by current SNL cast member Sarah Sherman. Sarah’s impression of the actress didn’t receive a rave review, however, with Aimee saying the skit was “mean.” It turns out that Aimee isn’t the only target of SNL who hasn’t been too pleased with their portrayal on the show.

Aimee Lou Wood Wasn’t Happy With Sarah Sherman’s Impression Of Her On SNL

Sarah Sherman has made it clear she has no hate in her heart for Aimee Lou Wood. Sarah has addressed her impersonation of Amy’s character on The White Lotus, which left fans feeling torn after the parody skit aired on Saturday Night Live. Sarah cleared the air in a recent interview with Vanity Fair.

“I was excited to play her because she’s so iconic, her character is so iconic,” Sarah told the outlet, “and I f****** obviously never meant to hurt anyone’s feelings. Never in a million years did I get into comedy to make anyone upset. I feel terrible that anyone would feel bad.”

The skit aired during SNL‘s April 12 episode, and Aimee criticized the impression of her Season 3 character Chelsea, where she was targeted for her natural teeth. She previously told UK talk show host Jonathan Ross, “It feels so lovely. A real full-circle moment after being bullied for my teeth forever. Now people are clapping in an audience.”

Aimee wrote on her Instagram Stories, “I did find the SNL thing mean and unfunny,” the following morning. She added, “Such a shame, cuz I had such a great time watching it a couple weeks ago. Yes, take the p*** for sure – but there must be a cleverer, more nuanced, less cheap way?” Regarding Sarah’s accent, Aimee wrote, “At least get the accent right seriously. I respect accuracy even if it’s mean.”

Despite Aimee’s takeaway, Sarah said that her impression of the actress wasn’t mean-spirited when she inhabited the role for audiences of the long-running comedy series. “The show is in constant dialogue with culture as it’s happening, and it happens really fast,” Sarah said. “You have to be vigilant, you know what I mean?”

“There are a lot of things out of your control,” she continued. “You’re playing a lot of different parts, you’re doing a lot of different roles that you’re not in control of. A lot of the process of the show has been, to me—how am I answering this? Staying vigilant but also being a part of the show—that is your job.”

After Aimee called SNL out, there were a lot of celebrities who came to her defense. Cara Delevingne wrote on Instagram, “@aimeelouwood YOU ARE STUNNING PERIOD.” Jameela Jamil posted a comment praising Aimee’s smile, “It’s the least interesting or memorable thing about this brilliant actor. Our next Olivia Coleman. Hilarious, deep, vulnerable, and relentlessly lovable.”

Bowen Yang, who also stars on SNL, defended Sarah while also acknowledging how the dental prosthetics Sarah wore in the sketch could’ve upset fans and the actress herself.

“However she reacted to that sketch is completely valid,” Bowen explained to Extra. “With parody, you kind of forget the sort of human, emotional cost. I feel like it’s this thing that we tend to forget sometimes, and this is a reminder, and it seems like she has spoken to people at the show about it and hopefully, there’s room to sort of move on from it.”

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Kenan weighed in on the touchy subject.

The White Lotus actress revealed that the SNL star personally apologized by sending her a gift in the mail. Aimee shared a photo to her Instagram Stories where she showcased a bouquet of orange roses and pink carnations. She tagged Sarah in the caption, writing, “Thank you for the beautiful flowers.” Aimee even revealed SNL apologized to her hours after her initial post calling them out, writing, “I’ve had apologies from SNL.” This is an unusual course of action for the series, as they don’t usually apologize for their celebrity impressions.

A Former SNL Cast Member Also Had Problems With How The Show Poked Fun At Him

Pete Davidson famously made a name for himself on SNL from 2014 to 2022. His dating life, particularly his relationships with Ariana Grande and Kim Kardashian, made him a hot topic in celebrity news. Pete and the rest of the cast often poked fun at this aspect of his life on the show.

A 2022 sketch titled “Biden Spider-Man Cold Open” showed Pete playing a version of President Biden from the “real” world. The skit claimed that this was where most people were better off. Another example came years earlier, in 2018. In the skit “A New Kyle,” Kyle Mooney is seen getting a makeover where he sports bleached hair and lots of tattoos, similar to Pete’s look at that time. Pete’s relationship with Ariana was referenced in the skit, including the pig they adopted together.

Pete commented on these portrayals of him during a 2020 interview with Charlamagne tha God. He said, “I personally think I should be done with that show because they make fun of me on it. But I’m, like, cold-open political punchlines. I’m ‘Weekend Update’ jokes. When I’m not there, they’ll be like, ‘Pete’s a f****** jerkface.’ It’s like, whose side are you on? I have a weird feeling in that building, where I don’t know whose team they’re playing for — if I’m the joke or I’m in on the joke.'”

He continued, “I really wanted last year to be my last year, but I’m still around. If I’m just fodder now, though; maybe I just shouldn’t be there. They think I’m f****** dumb — like, I’m literally painted out to be this big, dumb idiot. I just feel like I’ve done as much as I can over there.”

Pete also commented on his dating life and how it’s perceived during the podcast REAL ONES with Jon Bernthal in 2023. “In 12 years, I’ve dated 10 people,” he said. “I don’t think that’s that crazy, but to some people, that’s very interesting. That became all anyone would talk about. Suddenly, you’re in this zeitgeist and that has nothing to do with the work. And that’s a really s***** feeling.”

He continued, “I became more known before the work was there, but I was always working. I’m cool with the joke. I get the late-night jokes. When your own show [pokes fun at you]…I’d be sitting in the back watching the cold open and — the cold open [is] topical, political humor, whatever’s in the culture. And then, making fun of you. Then you’ve gotta walk out and do a sketch next and hit your mark and the show just made fun of you.”

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“So, why are they gonna laugh at you? Like, they just dogged you in front of everyone. And you’re like, ‘I’m a f****** loser, man,'” Pete continued. “These are the people I’ve been with for almost a decade. I grew up in front of these people. They’ve watched me through the most difficult time in my life, and they’ve been there for me. And nobody ever showed more leeway and grace to me than Lorne Michaels, and I owe my life to that guy. But it was f****** confusing ’cause the nature of entertainment is the nature of this business. At the end of the day, that’s what it is. This was a really difficult thing to do. You feel small. You feel super insecure.”

Mark Wahlberg Was Unhappy With The Impression SNL Did Of Him, But Still Appeared On The Show

Actor Mark Wahlberg was also parodied by the sketch show, and he didn’t take it so well either. In a skit titled “Mark Wahlberg Talks to Animals,” Mark was played by Andy Samberg, who did an over-the-top fake Boston accent. He sounded out-of-breath and almost angry at times. He would end each conversation by saying, “Say hi to your mother for me.”

While most would consider this to be harmless fun, Mark felt otherwise. He told the New York Post, “Someone showed it to me on YouTube. It wasn’t like Tina Fey doing Sarah Palin, that’s for sure. And Saturday Night Live hasn’t been funny for a long time. They’ve asked me to do the show a ton of times. I used to watch it when Eddie Murphy was there and Joe Piscopo and Bill Murray. I don’t even know who’s on the show now.”

But that wouldn’t be the last time Mark talked about the skit. He continued discussing his feelings during an appearance on Jimmy Kimmel Live. “When I see that kid, I’m going to crack that big f****** nose of his,” Mark said. “Then I’m going to tell him, ‘Say hi to your mother for me’….I’m going to go down to 30 Rock, and I’m going to slap him in the nose.. I guaran-f******-tee you.”

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Despite making his bad feelings very public, Mark would later attempt to show that he had a sense of humor after all. The actor would go on to make a cameo in the sketch “Backstage: Mark Wahlberg Confronts Andy Samberg.” By participating in the skit and poking fun at himself, Mark wanted to tell the public he no longer harbored ill will towards Andy. Whether he harbored ill will towards the comic behind closed doors remains to be seen.