As tradition dictates, the final Saturday Night Live segment of 2024’s Weekend Update saw hosts Colin Jost and Michael Che swapping shocking and often offensive jokes aimed at each other.
This year’s Christmas joke exchange seemed even more intense than usual, though it was likely planned for maximum impact. While crude jokes about Jost’s wife, Scarlett Johansson, have been a fixture in past segments, this time there was an added twist: the segment included a live camera capturing Johansson’s reaction to the jokes. If ancient Rome had gladiator battles, it seems 21st-century America now has this bizarre holiday tradition.
Despite the obvious discomfort the jokes caused, Jost and Che are no strangers to the segment. They have made these cringe-worthy exchanges year after year, often laughing through increasingly uncomfortable sexist and racist jokes, sometimes aimed at fictional civil rights figures. One might think that after nearly a decade of these on-air pranks, the two would have become desensitized. But according to recent discussions, that doesn’t seem to be the case.
On The Lonely Island and Seth Meyers Podcast, both hosts talked about the recent SNL holiday segment, specifically noting the intensity of this year’s joke swap. “This is not a modern SNL rewatch podcast,” said Seth Meyers, but he still called the joke exchange “incredible.”
Andy Samberg agreed, commenting that Jost seemed to get the “worst” of it this year. Meyers added that watching the segment made him feel like he was “falling off a building” due to its discomfort. The reaction from Jost and Che, however, seemed more telling. After the segment aired, Meyers texted both, praising the “incredible six minutes of television.” Their responses, however, showed the psychological toll it had taken. “Jost said, ‘My heart is still pounding,’” Meyers recalled, noting that the actor felt shaken even a day and a half later.
Despite the evident strain it caused, the joke swap has generated significant online buzz, and it appears it will continue as long as it draws attention—or until someone, quite literally, dies of embarrassment.
