Colin Jost and Michael Che are trying to get each other canceled again
Saturday Night Live's annual joke swap was particularly savage this year
Aux News Michael Che
Colin Jost and Michael Che are brave, brave men. After it was unceremoniously cut for time last year, Weekend Update’s annual joke swap is back on Saturday Night Live—but after this weekend, its participant’s jobs may not be. Okay, we’re kidding; this was clearly all in good fun.
Jost introduces the point of the bit—that he and his co-anchor will be reading jokes written by the other, sight unseen—right at the outset. Still, it takes real trust to leave your voice (and any particularly unflattering screenshots) up to someone else’s whims, and Jost and Che certainly didn’t hold back.
Before the jokes even start, Che had a surprise in store for his co-host in the form of a woman named Hattie Davis who he introduces as a “poet, author, and activist.” Hattie’s main job was to sit in the corner shaking her head in disapproval as Jost choked his way through jokes like “If you ask me, I can think of at least one dodo I’d like to reintroduce to Africa” (as a photo of Barack Obama flashed across the screen) and “If you ask me, you’re an even better black widow than Coretta Scott King,” in reference to his wife, Scarlett Johansson.
But this certainly wasn’t a one-sided affront from Che. Jost had some brutal lines in his arsenal for his co-anchor to read as well. “MJ: The Musical, about the life of Michael Jackson, has become one of the highest-grossing shows on Broadway, and my review of the acting is the same as my opinion of MJ’s trial: Michael is amazing, but the kids are not believable at all,” Che sputtered out, along with, “I want to say from the bottom of my heart, whether you’re Jewish or Muslim, y’all need Jesus.”
So if you’re fighting with your family at Christmas dinner this year, let this be a bit of a salve: at least you get to write your own comebacks.
55 Comments
Probably the best bits SNL does these days.
“and “If you ask me, you’re an even better black widow than Coretta Scott King,” in reference to his wife, Scarlett Johansson.”
Do you just straight-up not know how jokes work?
Yep, you typed the jokes from a YouTube video into text. Fulfilling job.
what do you do, bitch
Could be worse, she could be a writer for post-90s SNL
Che lost for the first time.and snl even though many people cry and moan about it. still has these kinds of fun bits.
Jost and Che are the best part about SNL and have been for the last few years
I agreed right up until I found out that “Hattie Davis” doesn’t exist. Che hiring an actor to up the pressure on Jost is a pretty amazing bit.
Colin finally took the gloves off for sure.
As a certified old, I can confirm people have been saying the same “SNL isn’t funny anymore” stuff since the start of the second season in 1976. FWIW, I think a lot of the revered first troupe content was terrible. “Cheeseburger cheeseburger, chips chips” HILARIOUS!
The half hearted and a touch terrified ‘Hi’ from Jost at the start ensured this was going to be a good one. Oh and watching Jost discover he has to try to fist bump – absolute torture.Also loved Jost with the “People can find you on Instagram, right?” after Che did the Jesus joke….Brilliant.
SNL is famous for doing a good bit to death, I’m glad this one is limited to once a year. It feels special and genuine and I bet the joke crafting begins months before it’s due.
I suspect Che has about 10 years worth of material for Jost ready to go. But it was nice to see Jost fighting back this year. “Y’all need Jesus in your life” was just perfect.
The Vanity Fair Lie Detector test that Che and Jost did together was so great.Che’s answers were hilarious and Jost was seriously uncomfortable.
If you want to see what that looks like, look no further than the “Jokes Seth Can’t Tell” bit on Late Night.
As far as the Joke Swap bit goes this year was a high water mark. Although I’m genuinely concerned that Che is going to get actual heat for what he had to do.
Yeah.
As satisfying as it was to see Jost finally give as good if not better, this year –
I find him bland in general –
between Chris Redd being Stranger-assaulted and Jay Pharoah’s terrifying takedown by LA Police (mistaken identity/’Our bad’) in the last few years, Black SNL stars have been subject to nasty encounters even before crazies really started spilling out of hiding and the international sitch got red hot.
(Then again, season 49 of a generally uncool show may be well off the radar of most nutjobs. Here’s hoping.)
The way Che’s voice jumps an octave on the “all the turmoil in the Middle East right now” line when he sees what he’s in for kills me.
“I want to say from the bottom of my heart, whether you’re Jewish or Muslim, y’all need Jesus.” This made me cackle for a long while.
Man, I do love the joke swap, but “savage” is right. I think they’ve taken it just about as far as it deserves to go in that regard. I’m ready for them to try out some fresher material/perspectives with it next time.
No way. This is the most fun they have all year!
For those of you that complain that SNL is not funny anymore, I present you this bit.
yup confirms what I thought..
Talk about damning with faint praise…“There are 5 minutes of funny in an entire season, take THAT haterz!!!”
I gave up on SNL ages ago , but… that guy is literally the blandest looking American white guy I have ever seen, Like literally an instantly forgettable generic computer designed NPC . I mean …him ?? Is he funny or something?
“Is he funny or something?”
Stop judging books by their covers and find out for your fucking self, loser.
He’s married to one of the most desirable women in the world, so, yes, something.
I keep thinking about the fact that Emma Stone married an SNL segment producer. Imagine being that guy and thinking “yeah, Emma Stone’s guesting this week, I could land her” and he DOES.
Hooray, opinions.
Yeah, he’s pretty funny. Best part, though? He is still very naive as an adult man, which is why Che can consistently get one over on him.
Not by himself.
There’s a whole generation now that only knows these two shitbirds as the SNL news guys for their whole life and I feel sorry for them.
Yeah, I bet you’re way better looking than Colin Jost. You should post a pic to show us all what a real hunk looks like.
He’s a excellent writer for SNL. I always love finding out who wrote which bit. Seth Meyers and John Mulaney always talk about Jost’s “dark and hilarious” sense of humor and how many of the best sketches he wrote.He comes from the “Harvard National Lampoon” writers – like Conan O’Brian, BJ Novak, Rasheeda Jones, etc….
What a comment. lol He’s Harvard educated, overcame a major childhood speech impediment, married to Scarlett Johansson, and has been in a pretty plum, high-profile gig for over 0 years. But he’s “bland looking” so therefore deserving of ridicule for the face he was literally born with and can’t do anything about.
He is well aware, and is okay with it. His memoir is literally called, “A Very Punchable Face,” and it’s quite good.
I like how they start with a disclaimer. These aren’t like our regular jokes! they’re funny!
This one – like joke swaps in previous years – gave me true belly laughs. I love how they torture each other, but also how they are shocked as they see what they’ll have to say/do. Best bit since Celebrity/Black Jeopardy!
I normally enjoy this bit anyway and it was nice to see some of Jost’s jokes land a bit harder than in previous years. That said, the inclusion of “Hattie Davis” was brilliant and made me, a white viewer, feel pretty fucking bad on all levels that I had to look her up. Which was a power move and for that, I applaud Che.
I’m a Black viewer and I was so embarrassed that I didn’t know who she was. I was like omg what have I missed! I felt a lot better when I found out she was not real. It would have been funny if Che had been like “You’ve heard of Hattie Davis, haven’t you, Colin,” and seen Colin squirm.