Colin Jost Realizes Too Late He’s Been Set Up — and the Name That Changed Everything Was Scarlett Johansson

Michael Che has made a tradition out of putting his “Weekend Update” co-anchor Colin Jost in impossible positions, but this year’s Saturday Night Live Christmas joke swap took that tradition to a whole new level.

The long-running segment—where Che and Jost cold-read outrageous jokes written for each other—came with an added layer of deception this time. Che had quietly convinced Jost that the bit was off the table for the holiday episode. So when Che suddenly introduced it on the December 20 show, Jost looked genuinely blindsided.

“Tonight is our Christmas show, and we have a tradition,” Che announced with a straight face. “Colin and I give each other jokes to read that neither of us have ever seen before.”

Jost immediately sensed something was wrong. “That’s interesting,” he replied, scanning the studio, “because you specifically told me we were not doing it this year. And you know I didn’t write any jokes for you.”

“Oh, did I?” Che shot back innocently. “Well, I guess you’ll just have to read mine.”

What followed was a slow-motion train wreck. Jost began reading a joke about menopause and women leaving the workforce—only to realize too late where it was headed. As he grimaced through the punchline, a photo of his wife, Scarlett Johansson, appeared on screen. The audience roared as Jost visibly froze, caught between professional obligation and instant regret.

And then Che pushed it further.

Forced to finish the joke, Jost stumbled through an even more uncomfortable ending, just as another image popped up—this time of Jenna Ortega as Wednesday Addams. The camera caught Jost staring around in disbelief, laughing through the shock as the crowd lost it.

Che, barely holding himself together, summed it up perfectly: “Wow, Colin, I wouldn’t have done that one.”

Still processing, Jost could only respond, “Wednesday?!”

The ambush didn’t stop there. Throughout the segment, Jost hesitated over each cue card, bracing himself for whatever Che had lined up next. At one point, he nervously read a joke involving U.S. Mint coins and civil rights, struggling to get through the punchline as Che teased him from across the desk.

“You should’ve written some jokes for me,” Che added smugly.

Johansson, who has been married to Jost since 2020, is no stranger to being referenced on SNL—particularly during “Weekend Update.” As the show’s most frequent female host, she has often become an easy target for jokes tied to Jost’s on-air persona.

Earlier this year, the couple even got their revenge. During a springtime joke swap, Che was forced to read an extended apology to Johansson for his past jokes, delivering lines clearly designed to make him as uncomfortable as possible.

But this Christmas edition may have reset the scoreboard entirely. Between the misdirection, the perfectly timed visuals, and Jost’s unfiltered reaction, fans were quick to declare it one of the most brutal—and memorable—joke swaps in SNL history.