Scarlett Johansson is married to SNL’s Colin Jost, who is known for hosting the Weekend Update segment in the long-running sketch comedy show. The Fly Me to the Moon actress has worked with Jost multiple times during her appearances on the show and appreciated his comedic chops multiple times.
However, one aspect of Josts’s SNL gig reportedly has her terrified. Jost and fellow host Michael Che have a tradition of swapping jokes every year, with both of them making each other say increasingly offensive material live. Johansson mentioned that she blacks out when the jokes are made at her expense.
Scarlett Johansson’s AI Battle Made It To SNL
Scarlett Johansson has started a legal battle against OpenAI who have allegedly used the likeness of her voice for their ChatGPT voice assistant, despite the actress not consenting. The Her actress mentioned that she declined the offer from OpenAI chief Sam Altman when he approached her to lend her voice to Sky, the ChatGPT voice assistant (via NPR).
The news reportedly made it to SNL during the Weekend Update segment, which is hosted by Johansson’s husband Colin Jost. As part of a joke swap, his co-host Michael Che made Jost say,
ChatGPT has released a new voice assistant feature inspired by Scarlett Johansson’s AI character in Her. Which I’ve never bothered to watch, because without that body, what’s the point of listening?
Johansson mentioned that the joke-swap segment is usually a nightmare for her as she fears for their life due to the offensive jokes that both of them make the other say. She said during The Kelly Clarkson Show,
It is brutal. It is brutal. I feel like every year it gets worse. It’s just terrible…I mean, I really do, I actually don’t remember that segment. I fully blacked out. And they do it at Christmas, too. It’s like a little gift to each other.
The actress jokingly said that she fears that they would have to go to a witness protection program due to the nature of the jokes they both have to say on air.
Colin Jost Has Referred To Scarlett Johansson Multiple Times On SNL
Colin Jost and Michael Che’s joke-swap is one of the most beloved traditions of SNL and has been a fan favorite. The comedians write offensive jokes for each other on the Weekend Update segment, which they have to read out on air without knowing what they are beforehand.
While Jost has given some great quips for Che, with the most recent one being his diss towards Kendrick Lamar, Che has often used Jost’s wife and actress Scarlett Johansson as bait. Apart from the ChatGPT one, the Her star has made it to the joke-swap multiple times.
Michael Che made fun of Johansson’s casting in Ghost in the Shell in a previous episode of SNL by giving Colin Jost a joke about Scott Stapp’s casting in a Frank Sinatra biopic. He said that Johansson would be cast as Sammy Davis Jr. in the film. In another instance, he called Johansson a better Black Widow than Martin Luther King Jr.’s wife (via SNL).
