Colin Jost responds to joke about who actually runs the show in his marriage to Scarlett Johansson

Saturday Night Live anchor Colin Jost recently fired back with a witty response after Michael Che joked that Scarlett Johansson is the one “carrying” their high-profile marriage.

During the March 14, 2026, episode of the long-running sketch series, the Weekend Update desk became the site of another classic comedic showdown between the two co-anchors. As is often the case, the joke centered on the perceived dynamic between the comedian and his A-list movie star wife.

Jost, 43, handled the ribbing with his trademark self-deprecating style while still making sure to get a word in about his own contributions to the household. The exchange also fit neatly into the duo’s long-running habit of folding their personal lives into Weekend Update humor.

Here is what actually happened during the latest segment.

What was the specific joke that Michael Che made?

The lighthearted confrontation began when Michael Che introduced a news item about a unique physical competition held in Europe.

Che introduced a news item about the U.K. Wife Carrying Race in England, where a Finnish pair won the 2026 event. He then quickly turned the setup into a personal jab at his deskmate.

He told the audience that the winners of the annual wife-carrying contest in England were a couple from Finland, then joked that the winner of the “husband-carrying” contest was once again Scarlett Johansson. The line played on Johansson’s much larger movie-star profile.

The audience immediately erupted into laughter as Che broke character and started laughing at his own joke. Jost, meanwhile, sat in silence for a few beats, wearing a look of mock outrage that fans have come to expect during these segments. The silence only added to the tension of the moment before Jost decided to offer a rebuttal.

Fun fact: The real “Wife Carrying” World Championships have been held annually in Sonkajärvi, Finland, since 1992 and have inspired similar events worldwide.

How did Colin Jost respond to being called the passenger?

After letting the laughter die down, Jost leaned into the microphone to defend his status in the Johansson-Jost household.

He didn’t deny that his wife is a global superstar, but he insisted that he still plays a vital role in their domestic life. “We both put food on the table,” Jost quipped back at Che, earning a fresh wave of cheers from the Studio 8H crowd. He didn’t stop there, however, adding a second punchline to clarify the nature of their respective earnings. He followed up by joking, “They’re just different kinds of food.”

This self-aware comment was a nod to the massive box office success Johansson enjoys compared to the life of a television writer and performer. By framing their careers in terms of “different kinds of food,” Jost acknowledged the disparity in their professional scales while maintaining his dignity.

The retort suggested that Jost is comfortable joking publicly about the gap between his career and Johansson’s movie-star profile. It also fit the self-deprecating style he frequently brings to Weekend Update.

Why does Michael Che frequently target Jost’s marriage?

Targeting Colin Jost’s marriage to one of the world’s most famous actresses has become a recurring theme for Michael Che over the years.

Che often uses the “joke swap” segments, where the two anchors write offensive or embarrassing jokes for each other to read sight-unseen, to put Jost in awkward positions. These jokes frequently imply that Jost is out of his league or that he is living off his wife’s fame. While the jokes are scripted and the two are close friends, the “husband-carrying” comment felt like a natural extension of this long-running comedic bit.

Fun fact: Scarlett Johansson has hosted Saturday Night Live seven times, officially making her a member of the prestigious “Five-Timers Club.”

What does this tell us about the Jost-Johansson relationship?

Beyond the jokes, the exchange suggests a relationship built on a very solid foundation of mutual support and humor.

Johansson has appeared in Weekend Update bits herself, including the May 2025 joke-swap revenge segment. Her on-camera participation shows that she has been willing to join the bit rather than only serve as its target.

The “husband-carrying” joke fits an established Weekend Update pattern in which Che turns Jost’s marriage into a punchline. The show has repeatedly used the contrast between Jost and Johansson as material in joke-swap segments and other on-air exchanges.

Ultimately, Jost’s response reinforces the idea that they are a team, regardless of whose name is higher on the marquee.

Fun fact: Colin Jost is currently the longest-serving anchor in the history of Saturday Night Live’s “Weekend Update” segment.

TL;DR

• Michael Che joked on the March 14, 2026, episode of SNL that Scarlett Johansson “carries” her husband, Colin Jost.
• The joke was delivered during the Weekend Update segment following a news story about a wife-carrying contest.
• Colin Jost fired back by saying they “both put food on the table,” though he admitted they were “different kinds of food.”
• This exchange is part of a long-running comedic tradition where Che mocks Jost’s marriage to the A-list actress.
• The couple has been married since 2020, and both have shown a willingness to fold their relationship into SNL’s on-air humor.

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This article was made with AI assistance and human editing.

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