Johansson revealed on ‘The Kelly Clarkson Show’ that she “blacks out” during the segment
Scarlett Johansson is getting real about Colin Jost and Michael Che’s Weekend Update joke swap tradition on Saturday Night Live.
The bit — which requires Jost and Che, both 41, to write each other offensive jokes to read on air without seeing them beforehand — can get “brutal,” Johansson admitted during her latest appearance on The Kelly Clarkson Show.
“We need to go into witness protection after that night. Like, I am absolutely terrified we’re gonna be targeted. It’s so bad,” Johansson, 39, said of the segment that involves her husband of over three years, Jost. “I black out for that period of the night.”
The Fly Me to the Moon star, who was the subject of one joke back in May, revealed to Clarkson, 42, what it’s like to see her husband unknowingly read jokes, some of which mention her.
“It is brutal,” she added during her Thursday, July 11 appearance on the talk show. “I feel like every year it gets worse. It’s just terrible.”
Colin Jost and Scarlett Johansson attend the “Fly Me To The Moon” premiere on July 8, 2024 at New York City’s AMC Lincoln Square Theater.
Dimitrios Kambouris/Getty
The latest Johansson jab on SNL was part of the show’s May 18 season finale. “ChatGBT has released a new voice assistant feature inspired by Scarlett Johansson’s AI character in Her,” Jost read aloud, as written by Che. “Which I’ve never bothered to watch, because without that body, what’s the point of listening.”
As for that joke in particular, Johansson told Clarkson that she doesn’t “remember” it going down. “As soon as the picture came up, I was like [screams],” she said, while covering her face, before adding that it’s “painful.”
“I mean I really do, I actually don’t remember that segment. I fully blacked out,” Johansson said. “And they do it at Christmas, too. It’s like a little gift to each other.”
Scarlett Johansson.
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Of course, the joke swap isn’t only an opportunity for Che to poke some fun at Jost, as Jost is also able to trick his co-host into putting himself in uncomfortable positions, too. During the latest joke swap, Jost got Che to joke about texting minors and inserting himself into the feud between Kendrick Lamar and Drake.
“Speaking of bitches, I want to call out the biggest bitch of all, Kendrick Lamar,” Che said at one point. “Or should I say littlest. Your war with Drake may be over, but your war with Michael Che is just beginning. So, to quote Hamilton, ‘Shoot your shot, player.'”
Jost, who wed Johansson in October 2020 and welcomed son Cosmo with her in August 2021, is no stranger to referencing his wife in his comedy. Back in April during the White House Correspondents’ Dinner, the SNL star name-dropped the movie star and compared himself to Doug Emhoff by calling himself the “second gentleman.” He also thanked the actress for “agreeing to individually meet everyone in this room” after the dinner, and jokingly encouraged the crowd to “come right up” to her.
Johansson’s latest film Fly Me to the Moon is in theaters July 12.
