'%20x='0'%20y='0'%20height='100%25'%20width='100%25'%20%0A%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20xlink%3Ahref='data:image/jpg;base64,/9j/2wBDAAYEBQYFBAYGBQYHBwYIChAKCgkJChQODwwQFxQYGBcUFhYaHSUfGhsjHBYWICwgIyYnKSopGR8tMC0oMCUoKSj/2wBDAQcHBwoIChMKChMoGhYaKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCj/wAARCAAHAAoDASIAAhEBAxEB/8QAFgABAQEAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAUH/8QAIBABAAEEAQUBAAAAAAAAAAAAAQIAAwQRBRITIUFRYv/EABQBAQAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH/xAAYEQEAAwEAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAABABExEv/aAAwDAQACEQMRAD8AwC1yHG2+HzY37WRczpsOxLYRPL1Ej5pE97KhmZMNEwD8FKUaA5HpGyf/2Q=='%3E%3C/image%3E%3C/svg%3E)
BAFTA TV Award winner Aimee Lou Wood was recently parodied on a recent Saturday Night Live (SNL) sketch, “The White POTUS” (based on The White Lotus).
The political satire took a jibe at many, including the US President Donald Trump. During the sketch, Jon Hamm appears as Robert F Kennedy Jr, aka RFK Jr, who shares the screen with Sarah Sherman. The SNL comedian gave an impression of Aimee Lou Wood’s character, Chelsea from The White Lotus Season 3, wearing fake teeth and an over-the-top accent.
Wood expressed her thoughts about The White POTUS via Instagram Stories. The 31-year-old actress shared how she is “not thin skinned” and loves being made fun of when the joke is “clever and in good spirits.” Aimee Lou Wood pointed out that the joke on her character was about “fluoride,” while she/Chelsea have “big gap teeth, not bad teeth.”
The Alice & Jack actress felt that the SNL sketch “punched down” her/Chelsea while the remaining segments were punching up. Aimee Lou expressed her disappointment in other Instagram Stories and called the skit “mean and unfunny.” She also shared about recent apologies from SNL after expressing her criticism online.
While Aimee Lou Wood called out Saturday Night Live for seemingly crossing the line, she isn’t the only celebrity to do so. Many notable names have displayed displeasure or blasted NBC’s late-night sketch comedy show for its spoofs.
Seven celebrities who weren’t impressed with SNL sketches, like Aimee Lou Wood
Over its 50-season run, Saturday Night Live rarely shied away from spoofing anything from American pop culture. On many occasions, the SNL skits ended up getting branded as controversial. On some occasions, celebrities also took a stance to push back against SNL sketches for different reasons. Here are seven such names, like Aimee Lou Wood, who called out Saturday Night Live for its skits:
Mark Wahlberg
Before Andy Samberg was the fan-favorite Jake Peralta, he spent seven years as an actor-writer with the Saturday Night Live team. During his time on SNL, the Brooklyn Nine-Nine star spoofed well-known personalities like Mark Zuckerberg, Nicolas Cage, Weird Al, David Blaine, and more. In a Season 34 skit, “Mark Wahlberg Talks to Animals,” Samberg spoofed The Departed actor.
Wahlberg wasn’t quite impressed by Andy’s performance and called out Saturday Night Live. Speaking to the New York Post in 2008, the actor said,
“Someone showed it [Andy’s impression] 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.”
Wahlberg later appeared on Saturday Night Live as a part of a skit, confronting Andy and parodying himself. However, a few years later, when the Ted star appeared on Jimmy Kimmel Live, he again dissed SNL. Speaking about Andy Samberg, the actor said,
“When I see that kid [Andy], I'm going to crack that big fucking nose of his. Then I'm going to tell him, 'say hi to your mother for me.'”
Kathie Lee Gifford
Kristen Wiig is another Saturday Night Live alum who parodied many notable celebs during her seven-season stay on the show. During her stay, the sketch comedy show also spoofed Today, a popular news program. Wiig was involved in SNL’s friendly fire at Today, as she did an impression of Kathie Lee Gifford on multiple occasions.
The former The View host seemingly did not like being parodied on Saturday Night Live. During a broadcast, the TV presenter displayed her annoyance with Kristen Wiig's over-the-top portrayal. She initially joked,
"Can’t she [Wiig] get another job? Go off and do something else?”
After reacting to the clips of the sketch, Kathie Lee Gifford added,
“I don’t know, everyone seems to enjoy it. I personally don’t think [...] I don’t think it’s that funny.”
Meghan McCain
Like Today, The View has been spoofed many times on Saturday Night Live. In Season 44, the ABC talk show was again parodied, with each concurrent host, including Meghan McCain, getting roasted with comedic impressions. Aidy Bryant, who spent a decade on SNL, did McCain’s impression.
Portraying Meghan, she even self-described herself as “the princess of Arizona,” about the talk show host’s father and former US Senator from the state, John McCain. The ex-The View host initially didn’t express anything but later shared during a 2021 interview with Rolling Stones,
“People really loved it when SNL dunked on me, and it was not flattering or kind. And, by the way, they were pretty nice to the rest of the [View] cast, just not great to me.”
She mentioned about having a “pretty healthy sense of humor” and added,
“But I think if people knew what it has done to me mentally, emotionally, the toll it’s taken on me, the depression that has followed … just the dark spirals. I felt like for a while that I was just the laughing stock of the country. And it’s not true or fair or accurate, but when you’re your worst critic in your head, it’s very hard.”
Anderson Cooper
The well-known news broadcaster Anderson has been spoofed multiple times by three actors – Seth Meyers, Jon Rudnitsky, and Alex Moffat. It was Rudnitsky’s impression that seemingly left the CNN anchor unimpressed. Jon played Cooper in Season 41’s “Democratic Debate” cold open.
Reacting to his parody, Anderson Cooper said on a 2015 episode of Watch What Happens Live!,
“I'm not easily offended, but I didn't think it [Rudnitsky’s portrayal] was particularly good.”
Cooper added,
“I'm all for being spoofed. I did think it was a little odd. It was like the only thing he knew about me was that I'm gay, so that's sort of what we went with."
Carole Baskin
The feud between the Big Cat Rescue CEO, Carole Baskin, and a private zoo owner, Joe Exotic, was documented by Netflix in Tiger King. The true-crime docuseries garnered viewers’ attention and spawned a Saturday Night Live spoof of Baskin. Despite Chloe Fineman getting the audience's approval, Carole expressed her displeasure.
Baskin reportedly said during an August 2020 episode (currently deleted) of the Pet Show Podcast,
“I could just slap that woman [Fineman]!”
She continued,
“This whole, 'My kitty, meow, meow, kitty, meow, and then she would just say these really weird words all in a row. That all became popular, I guess, in popular culture and people wanted me to talk like that on the Cameos. And I’m like, ‘I have no idea how to talk like that. That is not how I speak.”
David Paterson
When David Paterson was the governor of New York, he was parodied on Saturday Night Live in Season 35. During the “Weekend Update” segment, Fred Armisen appeared as the politician-attorney, mimicking his mannerisms.
Reportedly, Paterson wasn’t impressed by SNL’s portrayal of a person with physical disabilities. In a statement given to The New York Times, Risa B. Heller (communications director for Paterson’s office) said,
“The governor engages in humor all the time, and he can certainly take a joke. However, this particular Saturday Night Live skit unfortunately chose to ridicule people with physical disabilities and imply that disabled people are incapable of having jobs with serious responsibilities. The governor is sure that Saturday Night Live, with all of its talent, can find a way to be funny without being offensive.”
Fortunately, everything ended well, as Paterson appeared alongside Fred Armisen on the SNL Season 36 premiere and indulged in self-deprecating humor.
Donald Trump
Saturday Night Live has been parodying the current US President for decades, with multiple cast members coming up with their impressions of the businessman-turned-politician. Alec Baldwin, who spoofed Trump during his 2016 presidential campaign and first term, received an Emmy for his performance.
The 45th and 47th POTUS was visibly unhappy about the portrayal, as he expressed before being elected to the office. Trump wrote on X (formerly Twitter),
“Watched Saturday Night Live hit job on me. Time to retire the boring and unfunny show. Alec Baldwin portrayal stinks. Media rigging election!”
Baldwin ultimately got tired of portraying Trump, but the US President again called out the actor in 2018 on X,
“Alec Baldwin, whose dying mediocre career was saved by his terrible impersonation of me on SNL, now says playing me was agony. Alec, it was agony for those who were forced to watch. Bring back Darrell Hammond, funnier and a far greater talent!”
Trending
The Apprentice (series) star might have despised his SNL impression, but the first lady seemingly had a different opinion. According to Page Six, Alec Baldwin recently recounted that during a 92nd Street Y event in NYC, he heard from someone that Melania Trump liked his impression on Saturday Night Live.
Baldwin ultimately moved on from SNL and was replaced by James Austin Johnson as Donald Trump.
Love movies? Try our Box Office Game and Movie Grid Game to test your film knowledge and have some fun!
Reply
