Jost reads brutal Scarlett Johansson insult during SNL joke swap

Colin Jost again faced an unguarded moment on Saturday Night Live, reading a brutal joke about his wife Scarlett Johansson during the show’s annual joke swap with Michael Che on Weekend Update. The exchange, reminiscent of last year’s moment, unfolded as Che reminded viewers that the pair’s ritual is meant to produce jokes neither of them has seen before, and then handed Jost a script full of zingers that veered toward Johansson. Che had initially suggested they wouldn’t do the bit this year, but Jost revealed that Che insisted the tradition go forward, and the two colleagues leaned into it with their characteristic deadpan timing.

The segment featured two jokes that touched on sensitive topics, including civil rights and sexual abuse victims, before Jost delivered a pointed barb aimed at Johansson. A on-screen photo of the actress flashed as Jost quipped, “New research shows that millions of women leave the work force due to menopause. Which means there’s only a couple years left on my gravy train,” prompting laughs and groans from the audience. He followed with another line about Johansson that leaned on a stereotype about aging and romance, trading quips about her being warm or sweaty as part of the bit. The exchange also included a reference to Netflix’s Wednesday character, with Jost jokingly saying, “They don’t call Wednesday hump day for nothing” as an image of Jenna Ortega as Wednesday Addams appeared on screen. Che tried to wrap up the segment but broke into laughter alongside Jost, underscoring the show’s willingness to cross lines for a punchline.

The moment reflected a pattern that has followed the couple through public appearances: Jost and Johansson have been married since 2020 and share a young son, Cosmo, who has occasionally been mentioned in lighthearted fashion on talk shows and interviews. The joke swap, a fixture of the duo’s on-air dynamic, continues to generate attention when it targets personal aspects of the couple’s life. Johansson has previously acknowledged the personal edge of these bits, noting in interviews that producers warned her Che had written a “vagina joke” for a past episode. She described the joke as vulgar, saying she found it notably crude even by SNL standards. InStyle published her comments in March, recounting that the joke involved a graphic line that she described as “old-school gross,” and that she initially wondered how far the comedy would go before the Costco roast beef gag about Jost’s references to his wife’s pregnancy and the couple’s family life flashed on screen during the 2024 swap.

Johansson’s candid reactions to the jokes have fed into a broader conversation about boundaries and satire. The actress has discussed how she handles such moments, indicating that while she can take a joke, she also looks for a playful but calibrated approach to retaliation. In a separate interview with Vanity Fair in May, Johansson suggested that she might pursue a humorous form of payback against Che, stating that retaliation would be expected and that others on the show could back her up if she chose to pursue it. “I feel like it’s almost my responsibility to come up with some way to burn Michael back,” she said, adding that she hoped to keep the tone within the realm of friendly competition.

The 2024 season also left a mark when Jost delivered a self-referential roast about Johansson’s response to a joke about the couple’s life. The segment included a joke about Costco removing a roast beef sandwich from the menu, with Jost quipping that he had “been eating roast beef every night since my wife had the kid.” A backstage shot of Johansson reacting with a surprised look became a defining image for that year’s appearance, illustrating how SNL often blends off-script moments with planned material. For Johansson, the experience has become part of a broader narrative about how public figures navigate humor that touches on personal matters.

Beyond the dynamics of the joke swap, the couple’s history has become a talking point for fans and critics alike. Jost and Johansson, who married in 2020, have used their platform to engage with audiences on a mix of personal and professional fronts, including occasional appearances at major award ceremonies. Johansson has spoken openly about how she approaches such moments, noting that she does not take offense lightly but also values the opportunity to push back in a way that remains constructive. The couple’s willingness to engage in on-air banter has become a hallmark of their public-facing partnership, even as it occasionally raises eyebrows among viewers who prefer their humor to stay away from real-life targets.

As the conversation around satire and celebrity relationships continues to evolve, SNL’s joke swap remains a testing ground for boundaries, timing, and the delicate balance between affection and affront. In interviews since, Jost and Che have shown that their partnership can sustain both playful rivalry and sharper jabs, a dynamic that has become a defining feature of SNL’s Weekend Update era. The ongoing back-and-forth between Jost, Che, and Johansson’s public persona underscores the show’s ability to blend personal moments with broader cultural commentary, a hallmark of late-night comedy in the modern era.