SNL Highlights: Scarlett Johansson Responds to Colin Jost’s ‘Weekend Update’
It’s that time of year again for Colin Jost and Michael Che’s yearly “Weekend Update” joke exchange on Saturday Night Live — and this time, Jost’s wife, Scarlett Johansson, was prominently featured in the audience.
During the episode aired on Saturday, December 21, Jost, 42, reacted with a “Why?” as he noticed a photo of Johansson, 40, appear on the screen.
“I want to dedicate this next joke to my boo, Scarlett Johansson,” Jost chuckled.
The scene then shifted to the actress backstage, visibly shaking her head while holding a glass of water.
“No, oh no,” Jost proceeded. “She’s genuinely concerned. … Hey, boo. Everybody knows Scarlett just turned 40, which means I might be on my way out.”
Both Jost and Johansson shared a laugh, with the Black Widow actress exclaiming, “Oh my goodness. Why?”
Che, 41, then pointed out that “there’s a bit more” to the joke.
“Nah, nah, I’m just messing around. We just welcomed a child together and y’all haven’t seen any pictures of him yet because he’s dark-skinned,” Jost read from his script. “I’m not scared of you folks.”
Johansson, who has a 3-year-old son named Cosmo with Jost, then took a sip of her drink and responded, “Oh, wow.”
Jost and Che have maintained this annual holiday tradition during their time on SNL. In the last show of the year, they secretly compose jokes for each other. The two comedians only discover what the other has written during the live performance, which frequently creates “panic” for Johansson.
“I often watch [SNL] with a sense of … not extreme panic, just a modest amount of panic because I feel like at any moment things might go awry,” Johansson stated during a July 2021 appearance on The Kelly Clarkson Show. “And that’s the thrill of SNL for all audiences, right? It’s completely live.”
The annual “joke swap” segment by Colin Jost and Michael Che on Saturday Night Live is a longstanding custom, but it’s one Scarlett Johansson wanted to avoid. Johansson, 39, mentioned that she “blacked out” when her photo appeared during the “Weekend Update” segment where Jost, 42, and Che, 41, pen outrageous jokes for each other […]
She elaborated back then, “When you’re emotionally invested, it shifts to something entirely different.”
Jost and Johansson first crossed paths when she hosted an episode of SNL, and they later tied the knot in 2020. During the same Saturday, she made an appearance in the cold open to honor host Martin Short.
Given that this holiday show marked former cast member Short’s fifth time at the helm, he finally received an invitation to the elusive Five-Timers Club. Johansson, Tom Hanks, Tina Fey, and Short’s close friend and collaborator Steve Martin were there to welcome him into the exclusive group.
Saturday Night Live airs on NBC every Saturday at 11:30 p.m. ET.
