Colin Jost Delivers Wild Scarlett Johansson Punchline in SNL Joke Swap

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Colin Jost likely wished his jokes didn’t land as well as they did during the recent joke swap on Saturday Night Live.

Every year, 43-year-old comedian Pete Davidson and Michael Che, co-host of Weekend Update, trade jokes with each other—often ones that are pretty risqué. As always, actress Scarlett Johansson ended up being the subject of some of those jokes.

During the December 20th episode of Saturday Night Live, hosted by Ariana Grande, Colin Jost shared new research indicating that many women leave their jobs because of menopause. He jokingly added that this meant he wouldn’t be able to rely on easy jokes about women for much longer.

The comedian burst out laughing and, as a picture of the Black Widow actress appeared, joked, “My girlfriend was already telling me, ‘Colin, I’m hot. Colin, I’m sweating.’ Seriously, you’re just having a hot flash!”

But the joke—written by Michael—went even further as Colin alluded to nabbing a younger woman.

He quickly reassured everyone, saying he had a plan B, and a picture of Jenna Ortega as Wednesday Addams from the Netflix show Wednesday appeared on the screen. He then joked, “That’s where the name ‘hump day’ comes from!”

This isn’t the first time Michael has used the show’s yearly segment to create drama in Colin and Scarlett’s relationship. Last year, Colin made an inappropriate joke about Scarlett’s body while she watched, visibly upset, from behind the scenes.

During his appearance on Saturday Night Live in 2024, the comedian mentioned Costco stopped selling their roast beef sandwich. He joked that he wasn’t worried about it, because he’d been eating roast beef every night since his child was born.

The camera then focused on the Avengers actress, who looked shocked by the joke and exclaimed, “Oh my God!” She is a mother to two children: a 3-year-old son named Cosmo with Colin, and a 10-year-old daughter named Rose with her ex-husband, Romain Dauriac.

Colin chuckled, reading from his notes. “Just kidding!” he said. “You know I never go downtown.”

Months later, Scarlett, 41, opened up about her visceral reaction to the wisecrack.

“I was shocked they took it there,” the Jurassic World star said in a recent interview with InStyle. “It was incredibly crude and just…really disgusting. Like, shockingly old-fashioned in how gross it was.”

And even Colin acknowledged that perhaps the joke went too far.

He admitted on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon in January that he believed he’d upset a lot of people. He also said Scarlett Johansson was truly surprised by everything that happened.

He admitted he was very surprised by what happened. However, he explained that they had warned her beforehand, asking if she’d be comfortable with Michael making a slightly suggestive joke at some point. She reportedly said she was fine with it and open to anything.

He hadn’t seen the joke before reading it live on air, so he didn’t know how it would end, but he immediately realized it was likely to be controversial.

Colin described how a visual for Arby’s appeared, and Scarlett reacted with excitement backstage, realizing what it was.

For a look back at the wildest SNL jokes about Colin and Scarlett, keep reading…

Weekend Update had its most explicit moment yet on the December 21, 2024 episode. You can watch the segment here.

On Saturday Night Live, Colin Jost announced that Costco stopped selling its roast beef sandwich. He was reading a joke written by his co-host, Michael Che, as part of a bit where they swap material without knowing what the other person wrote beforehand. Jost then added that he wasn’t worried about the sandwich being gone because he’d been eating roast beef every night since his child was born.

Scarlett Johansson, who has a 3-year-old son named Cosmo with her husband Colin Jost and a 10-year-old daughter named Rose from a previous relationship, was seen watching Jost perform on TV backstage. She could be seen mouthing “Oh my God!” as she watched.

The actress’ husband continued, “No, no, I’m just playin’, baby. You know I don’t go downtown.”

Jost and Johansson got their revenge on Che for a prank played during the Christmas episode of SNL’s 50th season finale in May 2025. You can see the segment from Weekend Update here.

Che admitted to the actress that during a previous ‘joke swap,’ he’d made inappropriate and offensive jokes at Colin’s expense, specifically comparing her anatomy to something from Costco. He explained that he’d acted out of jealousy, revealing he’s never actually seen a vagina before.

Che then apologized to his fellow cast member, Colin. “I really owe you everything,” he explained. “You found me when I was at a really low point – I was selling drugs near the Bronx Zoo. And now? I’m doing the same thing, but outside the American Girl store.”

Colin shared a joke from Che about being able to watch Scarlett Johansson’s smaller, independent films now that the year’s final “Weekend Update” segment had finished. You can watch the SNL clip here.

In March 2024, Che included a joke about Johansson’s appearance when writing for Jost on the final Weekend Update of the season. You can watch the SNL segment here.

According to Jost, ChatGPT recently launched a voice assistant that’s reminiscent of the AI character played by Scarlett Johansson in the movie Her. He jokingly added that he’s never seen the film, questioning the appeal of an AI voice without a physical body.

Che had Jost reference Johansson after reporting some movie casting news. (Watch the segment here.)

The singer Scott Stapp, best known as the frontman for Creed, is set to portray Frank Sinatra in a new film. Plus, Scarlett Johansson will take on the role of Sammy Davis Jr., according to the actress’ husband.

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2025-12-21 21:47