Colin Jost: Wife Scarlett Johansson ‘Genuinely Shocked’ by Intimate ‘SNL’ Joke

Colin Jost revealed that his wife Scarlett Johansson was “genuinely so shocked” by the joke Michael Che made him read on Saturday Night Live last month, even though she got a “heads up” that some sort of “vagina joke” was coming.

Jost sat down with Jimmy Fallon Monday on The Tonight Show where he revealed more about his and Johansson’s reaction to the semi-annual “joke swap” segment on SNL’s “Weekend Update.”

“I was obviously surprised by everything, but they gave her a heads-up,” Jost explained. “They were like, ‘Hey, would you be OK if Michael made a little, like, kind of vagina joke at some point?’ And she was like, ‘Sure, you know, whatever, I’m open to it.’”

About twice a year, Jost and Che do their “joke swap,” where Che usually succeeds at having Jost read the most humiliating jokes. This particular segment was no different, and Che made sure Jost’s famous wife was standing by to react in real time as he read the most outrageous quips referencing the couple.

“Costco has removed the roast beef sandwich from its menu, but I ain’t tripping: I’ve been eating roast beef every night since my wife had the kid,” Jost was forced to read on the show in December. The show then cut to Johanasson’s off-stage reaction, where she exclaimed, “Oh my god!”

That wasn’t all though, as Jost wrapped up Che’s joke, “I’m just playing, baby. You know I don’t go downtown.”

Jost said that even the heads-up she got beforehand wasn’t enough to prepare Johansson for the joke. “I didn’t know where it was going, and then the graphic came up for Arby’s,” Jost laughed. “It really was [legitimate shock],” he continued, “I can’t act that well.”

Of course, the jokes Che had him tell about his wife were just a couple out of several offensive quips he had to make during the segment’s prank that night, though he did manage to get a few licks back by having Che jokingly cop to attending freak-out parties at Diddy’s.

In the end, though, Che was undefeated. “I think I’m in trouble with a lot of people,” Jost concluded.