One of the standout fan favorites in The White Lotus Season 3 was Chelsea, the astrology-loving character played by Aimee Lou Wood—best known for her role in Netflix’s Sex Education. Charming, funny, and always up for a good time, Chelsea quickly won over audiences. But as the season progressed, the conversation shifted from her personality to something more superficial: her teeth. Unlike the perfectly straight Hollywood standard, Wood’s natural smile features a slight overbite and a small gap between her front teeth—no veneers in sight.

What began as lighthearted chatter soon turned into a tiresome fixation, with Wood being hailed as a poster child for embracing “flaws.” Understandably, the actress grew frustrated. In a recent interview with GQ, she admitted feeling reduced to “a pair of front teeth,” adding, “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.”

While being praised for simply having natural teeth was already exasperating, things took a nastier turn during a recent Saturday Night Live sketch. Titled The White Potus, the segment parodied political figures within The White Lotus universe, recasting the wealthy Ratliff family as Donald Trump and his inner circle. But instead of keeping the satire political, the show kept Wood’s character, Chelsea, in the mix—with Sarah Sherman wearing exaggerated prosthetic teeth to mock her appearance.

While the rest of the skit poked fun at political figures, Chelsea’s jokes revolved solely around her teeth. The lowest blow? Sherman’s line: “Fluoride, what’s that?”—implying not just poor dental hygiene but stupidity, reinforcing outdated stereotypes that equate crooked teeth with laziness or lack of intelligence.

Beyond the lazy “British teeth” trope (which feels as stale as Austin Powers at this point), the sketch felt like an unnecessary jab at someone who’s openly discussed being bullied for her teeth as a child. Wood later shared her disappointment on Instagram, calling the bit “mean and unfunny.” While she’s fine with being the butt of a joke, she pointed out that this one could’ve been “cleverer, more nuanced, less cheap.”

“The rest of the skit was punching up,” she wrote, “and I/Chelsea was the only one punched down on.” After receiving an apology from SNL, she quoted a follower’s apt observation: “It was a sharp and funny skit until it suddenly took a screeching turn into 1970s misogyny.”

Honestly, it’s absurd that having natural teeth—gap or not—has become such a talking point. If “no veneers” is now code for bad hygiene, where does that leave us? Is skipping Botox the same as neglecting skincare? As Wood herself put it, if you’re going to mock someone, at least make it smart. She’s one of the few actresses who hasn’t conformed to the filler-and-veneer mold society expects of women in the spotlight—only to be ridiculed for it. Good for her.Maybe the rest of us could just stay quiet for a while?