Bowen Yang Says Aimee Lou Wood’s ‘SNL’ Critique Is ‘Completely Valid’ (Exclusive)

“SNL’s” Bowen Yang, newcomer Han Gi-chan, Oscar winner Lily Gladstone, and “Star Wars” actress Kelly Marie Tran star in “The Wedding Banquet” as two gay couples who make a secret arrangement. 

“Extra’s” special correspondent Azia Celestino spoke with the four about the romantic comedy, which led to a life-changing experience for Kelly.

When Kelly stepped onto the set, she wasn’t publicly out yet. 

Tran recalled, “We were shooting the Korean wedding and we had a reporter from Vanity Fair on set and I remember I’m fully decked out in this whole situation. It was, like, in the middle of the day, and then we had this little corner room where we were each doing interviews, and he asked me, quite simply, ‘What are you most excited about?’ and I was like, ‘I’m so excited to tell a queer story as a queer person,’ and then I was like, ‘Oh,’ and it was such a sweet moment because I’ve never had this experience before.”

Kelly Marie noted that producers checked in with her to make sure she was fine to share that part of her identity.

She said, “I had a few months to really think about [it].”

“By the time we finished filming, I was so excited about being in a film where we’re celebrating that part of my identity,” Tran added. “A lot of our identities. Why would I not share this?”

Bowen reacted to “The White Lotus” star Aimee Lou Wood criticizing a recent “SNL” parody of her character as “mean and unfunny.”

He commented, “However she reacted to that sketch is completely valid. You kind of forget the sort of human, emotional cost that it sort of extols on someone.”

“You need those reminders every now and then that parody can go too far sometimes, and that we as comedians can take account for that instead of banging our foot and saying that, like, we should be allowed to say whatever we want because that’s just the culture,” Bowen emphasized. 

Yang expressed that the “SNL” cast are fans of “The White Lotus” and Aimee Lou, saying, “We just think that she should be so proud of the work that she put into this season.”