This Article Is Not Safe for WorkAt the end of every year, the hosts of "Weekend Update" on Saturday Night Live perform a joke swap, where they write jokes for each other to read live on-air without them having ever seen them. Of course, they use this opportunity to humiliate each other, often using their racial disparity for shock humor. Michael Che tends to write racist jokes for co-host Colin Jost to read out loud, sometimes inviting a Black person to sit next to him during it all. This year, Che ramped up his tactics by having Jost read out all the jokes with what Che called "Black voice," with Che writing the jokes in a kind of insulting slang. But he went one step further and made it much more personal, bringing Jost's real wife, Scarlett Johansson, into the mix.
Johansson recently turned 40, something which was displayed as a graphic next to Jost, leading to his first joke about her. "I want to dedicate this next joke to my boo, Scarlett. She is so genuinely worried. Hey, boo. Y'all, Scarlett just celebrated her 40th birthday, which means I'm about to get up out of there." Cue the groans and chuckles, and a cut to Johansson in the actual hallways of Saturday Night Live, watching her husband joke about her on a television hanging from the wall, live in real time. "Nah, I'm just playing," continued Jost in his ridiculous cadence. "We just had a kid together, and y'all ain't seen no pictures of him yet. He Black as hell."
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Things only got worse with the next joke. "Costco has removed the roast beef sandwich from its menu, but I ain't tripping," said Jost awkwardly. "I've been eating roast beef every night since my wife turned 40." Cut to Scarlett Johansson staring at the screen in horror, the mic catching her uttering, "Oh my God!" Jost added, "No, no, I'm just playing, baby. You know I don't go down."
For some, it's nice to see Saturday Night Live actually be transgressive considering their milquetoast last decade, but for others, the jokes about Johansson went way too far. Yes, she's rich and famous and can probably handle it, but just imagine your partner comparing your genitals to roast beef on live television viewed by millions, and then streaming on the internet forever?
Colin Jost Got Revenge on Michael Che at the 'SNL' Joke Swap
While Colin Jost's jokes for Michael Che to read weren't nearly as personally insulting, they were certainly brutal in their own ways, and deviously topical.
"Moana 2 continues to set records at the box office because, like me and my good friend Jeffrey Epstein used to say, there's nothing like an island adventure with a teenage girl," said Che, shaking his head. "I'm just kidding. I would never ever sleep with a girl as dark as Moana." But that wasn't all. Jost's savage jokes for his co-host continued, with Che reading, "Hey, before we go, I would be remiss if I didn't address the allegations about Jay-Z." Che's eyes widened, and he read the jokes like he was on a roller coaster:
"Some people are afraid to talk about it, but not Mikey 'The Truth Bomb' Che. So here it is: Jay-Z is innocent. And I know because I was there. Diddy, if you're listening, we're bad boys for life. When it comes to the charges against you, I'll say the same thing I always said at your parties: 'I will help get you off.'"
So, what do you think? Did either of the "Weekend Update" hosts go too far? Do you feel bad for Scarlett Johansson?
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Saturday Night Live MusicComedy
The longest-running sketch-comedy/satire show on television, premiering in 1975, Saturday Night Live is a weekly series that features new hosts for each episode, with a core cast of actors and comedians that rotate over time. Episodes feature several skits that are sometimes ad-libbed on the fly, with the hosts engaging in most of them, and also provide musical guest performances that cap off each night.
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*Availability in US Release Date October 11, 1975 Network NBC Seasons 50 Streaming Service(s) Peacock Showrunner Lorne Michaels