British actress hits out at 'mean and unfunny' joke on popular US comedy show

The White Lotus star Aimee Lou Wood has called a sketch making fun of her teeth "mean and unfunny".

The 31-year-old British actress posted an Instagram story about the joke on US TV show Saturday Night Live (SNL), in which comedian Sarah Sherman used exaggerated prosthetic teeth to do an impression of her. In the skit, titled The White Potus, Donald Trump and his family were reimagined as The White Lotus's Ratliff family, dealing with the backlash to the US president's recently introduced tariffs.

The third season of Mike White's hit hotel drama has just concluded on Sky Atlantic. While the other characters in the skit were shown in the guise of real-life political figures, Wood, who plays Chelsea in the show, was shown in character talking about a monkey.

Wood, who shot to fame on Netflix's Sex Education, said she was the only character in the piece that was "punched down on". She also said a part of the parody that joked about fluoride, following recent debates in the US as to if it should be removed from the tap water, was missing the point as she has "big gap teeth not bad teeth".

Wood wrote: "Yes, take the piss for sure - that's what the show is about - but there must be a cleverer, more nuanced, less cheap way?" The Stockport-born star also flagged Sherman's poor attempt at a Mancunian accent. But Wood went on to say that she wasn't "hating" on Sherman personally, just "on the concept".

Wood also flagged an online comment that said: "It was a sharp and funny skit until it suddenly took a screeching turn into 1970s misogyny," adding, "This sums up my view". After sharing her opinions, Wood said she had received "thousands of messages in agreement" and so was "glad I said something".

Read more from Sky News:Will Katy Perry sing in space?Upstairs, Downstairs actress dies Wood shared comments of support she had received. One, from an unnamed fan, said she too had "a big gap" in her teeth, as well as "an overbite" and that while she had been previously considering "spending thousands on fixing it," seeing Wood look "gorgeous" on The White Lotus had made her reconsider.

Wood said SNL has since apologised to her. Wood previously said, during an appearance on The Jonathan Ross Show, that the positive reception to her performance was "a real full-circle moment after being bullied for my teeth forever".

NBC, which airs SNL, has been contacted for comment..