The comedian also recounts joke swaps so bad that his mom and an ‘SNL’ host checked in on him.

Colin Jost spills details about SNL’s joke swap, including the one time Michael Che was ‘genuinely worried’

The comedian also recounts joke swaps so bad that his mom and an 'SNL' host checked in on him.

By Shania Russell

Shania Russell

Shania Russell is a news writer at *, *with five years of experience. Her work has previously appeared in SlashFilm and Paste Magazine.

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May 13, 2026 2:36 p.m. ET

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Colin Jost and Michael Che behind the 'Weekend Update' desk on 'SNL'. Credit:

- Colin Jost opened up about one of *SNL*'s craziest recurring bits, his joke swap with fellow "Weekend Update" anchor Michael Che.

- While Jost is usually the one suffering through the segment, he says there was one occasion that Che got "genuinely worried" about the jokes Jost had prepared for him.

- Jost also admits that the joke swap was, unfortunately, his idea in the first place.

Colin Jost only has himself to blame for the suffering he endures when *Saturday Night Live*'s joke swap rolls around.

The "Weekend Update" tradition, which sees Jost and Michael Che write jokes for the other to read as though they were his own, has basically become a way for Che to torture his co-host. But it wasn't even Che's idea to begin with.

"It started where we just wanted another chance to do jokes that the censor had stopped," Jost explained during Wednesday's episode of Travis and Jason Kelce's *New Heights* podcast. "We originally did it as just jokes that we weren't able to tell early in the year. And then I — perhaps foolishly — suggested, 'Wouldn't it be fun if we didn't know what was coming?'"

Jost noted that Che was unusually enthusiastic about the idea, admitting, "I really brought it on myself."

In the recurring segment, the hosts write jokes that the other has to tell, despite having no idea what they're about to read. Thanks to Che, it's become a minefield of embarrassment as he forces Jost to cold-read jokes specially crafted to get him canceled or to otherwise humiliate him. Recent entries include Jost reading some NSFW quips about his relationship with wife Scarlett Johansson and Che tricking him into sort of saying the N-word on air.

Colin Jost and Michael Che on 'SNL'.

Caro Scarimbolo/NBC

As for the next swap on the docket (the bit recurs at the midpoint and end of every season), Jost admitted that he has yet to come up with a plan.

"Oh, my god. That's two weeks away, so it's, like, I couldn't tell you anything yet," Jost told the Kelce brothers. "I'm sure we'll try to brainstorm some version of it, see if we can come up with something that would feel satisfying."

He then admitted that after several entries, it's hard to keep finding new ways into the bit.

"I don't know if you noticed [but] I'm at a little bit of a structural disadvantage. So it's harder for me to figure out what to do," he added.

Indeed, Jost rarely gets Che to sweat half as much as he does. But there was one recent exception.

"The time I feel like I got him the most nervous, because he's such a big Kendrick Lamar fan, was when I started getting him weighing in on the feud, talking directly to Kendrick," Jost said, recalling jokes he penned about Lamar's viral feud with Drake. "I could tell [Che] was really, really genuinely worried about what I was gonna make him say."

Colin Jost jokes about wife Scarlett Johansson during 'SNL' joke swap

'SNL' star Michael Che doesn't feel guilty for doing less work than Colin Jost

In the bit in question, Che inadvertently inserted himself into the feud, courtesy of Jost.

"Speaking of bitches," Che read, visibly nervous and choking back laughter, "I want to call out the biggest bitch of all: Kendrick Lamar. Or should I say littlest. Your war with Drake may be over, but your war with Michael Che is just beginning. So, to quote Hamilton, 'Shoot your shot, playa.'"

Che even commended Jost on the joke afterwards. "That was pretty well done man. I don’t like that one bit," he told him.

When Jason asked if the duo really do go in blind, with no idea of the jokes ahead, Jost confirmed that to be the case.

"We have a dress rehearsal, but at the dress rehearsal, we do totally different jokes," he explained. "Sometimes they're more tame, sort of to lull the other person into a false sense of security. And then sometimes they're actually a little harsher because you can make them say something that's not gonna air."

Jost shared that there have been occasions when Che made him say jokes so distressing that people have stepped in to check on him.

"There's really been ones where he made me say a joke, and the host that week came up to me after and was like, 'Are you okay?' Touched my shoulder and was like, 'He can't do that to you,'" Jost recalled with a laugh.

Colin Jost on 'SNL'.

NBC; Photo12/UIG/Getty

Even his own mother has reached out, expressing concern for both him and their family at large.

"It is thrilling to do, even though it is also terrifying," Jost said. "And my family every year is very worried for me. I remember my mom saying, like a Rosa Parks graphic came up and my mom was like, 'I thought our whole family was gonna end. We were gonna have to just shut down the family.'"

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Expressing a similar concern, Johansson has joked that she essentially blacks out during the segment and worries about whether they'll have to go into "witness protection" over whatever jokes Che has penned.

Thus far, Jost's reputation has survived — but alas, another joke swap is on the horizon.

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Source: “EW SNL”