Overview
- During SNL’s Dec. 20 episode, Che told viewers the annual joke swap was off, then revealed only Jost would read Che’s prepared punchlines live.
- Jost was made to deliver a line about his wife Scarlett Johansson that ended with “you’re having a hot flash,” followed by a tag invoking Jenna Ortega’s Wednesday.
- Other cues forced Jost into a slavery-related crack tied to a U.S. Mint coin and a quip about the Archdiocese of New York’s sexual-abuse victims fund.
- Che laughed throughout and ribbed his co-anchor with “you should’ve wrote some jokes for me” before remarking, “Wow, Colin, I wouldn’t have done that one.”
- LateNighter, citing show insiders, reported Jost was genuinely unaware after agreeing with Che to skip the swap this Christmas, echoing a tradition that drew an on-air apology in May after a 2024 Johansson joke; no new apology has been reported.