In a hilarious and cringeworthy turn of events, Michael Che executed a perfect ambush on his Weekend Update co-host Colin Jost during the holiday episode of Saturday Night Live. Che revived their infamous joke swap segment without warning, leaving Jost visibly stunned and forced to deliver a series of off-color punchlines he had never seen before.
The Setup: A Broken Tradition
The duo's semi-annual joke swap tradition involves each writing outrageous material for the other to deliver live on air, often pushing the boundaries of taste. However, for this year's holiday show, Jost was under the clear impression that the segment was cancelled. His reaction said it all when Che announced it was time for the jokes.
"That's interesting, because you specifically said that we were not doing it this year ... I did not write any jokes for you," Jost said with a nervous laugh, realizing he had been set up. With no material of his own for Che, he was at the mercy of his co-host's prepared barbs.
The Punchlines That Made Him Squirm
Jost visibly struggled through a series of Che's jokes, which targeted sensitive topics like slavery and the Catholic Church. But the real moment of shock came when the teleprompter revealed a personal roast targeting Jost's wife, actor Scarlett Johansson.
Forced to read the line, Jost gaped at the camera as a photo of his 41-year-old wife appeared: "New research shows that millions of women leave the workforce due to menopause, which means there's only a couple years left on my gravy train." He then had to continue, barely keeping his composure: "My girl already be like, 'Colin, I'm warm. Colin, I'm sweating.' Bitch, you having a hot flash!"
A History of On-Air Revenge
This latest ambush breaks a supposed détente in their joke war. The tension stems from the final episode of 2024, where Jost was compelled to make a crude joke about his wife's private parts, a moment Johansson witnessed backstage. In that sketch, Jost joked about Costco removing a roast beef sandwich, adding, "But I ain't trippin', I've been eating roast beef every night since my wife had the kid."
Johansson got her revenge in May 2024, however, forcing Che to deliver a mortifying on-air apology. That statement read, in part: "The fact is, I was just lashing out because I'm jealous. I've never ever seen a human vagina. And notice I said 'human' because I once spent the summer on a farm."
The ongoing saga of the Weekend Update joke swaps continues to be a highlight for SNL fans, showcasing the unique chemistry and willingness of Che and Jost to put each other—and themselves—in deeply uncomfortable comedic situations for the sake of laughter.
