Colin Jost and Michael Che’s annual joke swap segments might be a fan favorite on “Saturday Night Live,” but Scarlett Johansson is definitely not among those fans. According to the actress, who also happens to be Jost’s wife, she’ll typically “black out” during that segment — especially if she’s the target.
For those unfamiliar, the joke swap segment is simple: Jost and Che write jokes for the other to say during Weekend Update, and more often than not, the punchlines are horribly offensive, especially when coming from one of them specifically. Neither is allowed to see the joke beforehand, so they’re learning and reading the punchline live.
During Johansson’s appearance on “The Kelly Clarkson Show” on Thursday, the host was particularly curious about how real that last aspect is, with Johansson confirming that yes, her husband really is reading it for the first time live. Clarkson was floored by that, while Johansson admitted that the segment horrifies her.
“We need like, go into witness protection that night. Like, I am absolutely terrified we’re gonna be like, targeted. It’s so bad,” Johansson admitted. “I black out for that period of the night. I don’t — I actually don’t remember it.”
Of course, Johansson herself is often the butt of at least one joke Che writes for Jost. Most recently, Che had Jost poke fun of OpenAI’s voice assistant feature, which is reportedly similar to the movie “Her,” in which Johansson lent her voice to the virtual assistant. But, Jost was made to say he never watched “Her” for a very gross reason.
“Without that body, what’s the point of listening?” he said through a cringe.
Johansson told Clarkson on Thursday that she screamed as soon as her own picture came up during that segment.
“It is brutal. It is brutal. I feel like every year it gets worse, it’s just terrible,” she said. “It’s painful. 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.”
You can watch Johansson’s thoughts on joke swap in the video above, and see her full interview with Clarkson on Thursday’s episode of “The Kelly Clarkson Show.
