Scarlett Johansson’s real reaction to being exposed to Michael Che and Colin Jost’s dirty joke swap

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Few aspects of a Saturday Night Live season is more entertaining than Colin Jost and Michael Che’s annual joke swap. Every year, especially around the holidays, the two write skits for the other to read on air, with the twist that neither sees them beforehand. This year’s exchange was particularly brutal when Jost was forced to make some wild remarks about his wife, Scarlett Johansson, who was backstage at the time. Now on the heels SNLreturns in the middle TV program for 2025Jost discusses Johansson’s candid reaction.

During that episode, Colin Jost was forced to deliver his “Black voice” jokes, eventually noting how “Scarlett just celebrated her 40th birthday, which means I’m coming up from there.” He also joked about their son, Cosmo, saying the public had yet to see a picture of him because he’s “black as hell.” And to top it all off, while commenting on Costco apparently removing a roast beef sandwich from its menu, Jost was forced to say “I’ve had roast beef every night since my wife had the baby.”

Scarlett Johansson herself even seemed humorously surprised by the last comments. This week her husband appeared as a guest on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallonwhere he was asked about the antics. Fallon specifically asked Coming 2 America alum if he was in trouble with his wife because of the comments. In it YouTube video, the Weekend update co-host shared humorously honest thoughts:

I think I’m in trouble with a lot of people. Scarlett was really that shocked. … Because obviously I was surprised by everything, but they gave her a heads up. They were like, ‘Hey, would you be okay if Michael made a little vagina joke at some point?’ She said, “Well, anything, I’m open to it.” Then it was just the other way around – I didn’t know where it was going. Then the graphics came up for (Costco). So Scarlett was backstage like, ‘Oh my god, that’s what it is!’

Colin Jost went on to say that he wasn’t faking his surprise reaction at all when he mentioned that he “can’t act that well.” At this point, you’d think Jost might be a little used to having to make jokes at his wife’s expense at one point or another. In May 2024, he was tricked into taking a shot at Scarlett Johansson with a voice assistant inspired by the actress’ own vocals. Kidding aside, Weekend update guests also manage to slip in Johansson jokes via other means. Watch the latest joke swap below:

At the end of the day, it seems that these swaps are made for fun and do not involve anything personal. Michael Che goes so hard on these segments because the audience has to believe he’s really trying to embarrass his co-star. Colin Jost has also gotten better at setting Che up for some humorous massive failures. As for Scarlett Johansson, she seems to have a great sense of humor and if we’re being honest, she could unload on Jost if given the chance. (I’m sure she could riff on Jost’s wild Ferry purchase).

There don’t seem to be any joke swaps in the near future, but tune in this weekend on Saturday at 11:30 PM ET on NBC as SNL Season 50’s latest host and musical guest will be Timothée Chalamet. You will also be able to access the episode with a Peacock subscription.