Saturday Night Live played all the hits this week. The long-running comedy show treated fans to a 5-Timers Club sketch that involved nearly a dozen A-List former hosts dropping truth bombs, and if that wasn’t enough, it also gifted fans the annual joke swap. The Weekend Update bit, which involves Colin Jost and Michael Che writing jokes for each other to read live on the air, has fast become one of the most talked about recurring sketches in the show’s storied history, and this year’s version delivered.
As per usual, the Internet is mostly focusing on the horrors Colin Jost was forced to read. This time around, SNL put a camera on his wife Scarlett Johansson, as he was forced to read jokes about their baby’s skin color and how often he’s been going down on her since she gave birth. Her shocked reactions have been all over social media since the sketch first aired, as well as a video of her accidentally cursing, but to me, the bits with her weren’t even the most shocking moments.
Those would involve Michael Che and his aghast reaction when he realized he was about to weigh in on the Diddy and Jay-Z allegations. His voice noticeably changed pitches when he realized what he was about to say, and he was shooting Colin Jost the evil eye as the horrors of each new line unfolded. I mean, look at what he was made to read…
Hey, before we go, I would be remiss if I didn’t address the allegations about Jay-Z at those Diddy parties. Some people are afraid to talk about it, but not Mikey “The Truth Bomb” Che. So, here it is. Jay-Z is innocent. He wasn’t even at those parties, and I know because I was. And Diddy, if you’re listening, we’re Bad Boys for life. When it comes to the charges against you, I’ll say the same thing I always said at your parties, ‘I will help get you off.’
There’s always a lot of talk in comedy about what jokes are on the right side of the line and what jokes are on the wrong side of the line. Everyone obviously has their own sense of what material is OK to joke about, but the broad popularity of Weekend Update’s Joke Swap is a good reminder that people’s responses to comedy isn’t always about the specific words being said.
Often, it’s about the intent behind those words, and who the victim of the joke appears to be, which Che has talked about before. In these Joke Swaps, the victim of the joke isn’t the person or the group of people the joke is about, at least not really. We perceive the victim of the joke to be the person who is forced to read it, which is why they can keep pushing these further and further without much pushback that they’re going too far. You can watch the whole sketch as an example…
At least the viewers don’t think they’re going too far. It’s obvious Che had something to say to his buddy Jost as soon as the sketch aired, as you can see him pointing his finger at his co-anchor and delivering some inaudible thoughts. I have to imagine it was about the Jay-Z joke and how he didn’t see it coming.
Fortunately, both men have talked extensively about the Joke Swaps in the past, and they each seem to have a great sense of humor about the whole thing, even if they're "terrifying." They recognize it’s a bit that really works, and I can’t wait to hopefully see another round next year. God only knows the shocking places they’ll go.
As for SNL, it just went on a holiday hiatus, but it'll return sometime in the new year with new episodes and new hosts that haven't been announced yet.