Saturday Night Live Christmas Joke Swap 2025: Michael Che Tricks Colin Jost Into Reading Brutal Scarlett Johansson Jokes

Every year, one of the most anticipated segments on Saturday Night Live is the infamous Christmas Joke Swap on Weekend Update—a tradition where anchors Michael Che and Colin Jost force each other to read jokes they’ve secretly written.

The catch? The person reading the joke has no idea what’s coming next.

And in the 2025 edition, Che once again proved he had one specific target in mind: Scarlett Johansson.

A Tradition Built on Total Betrayal

The Christmas Joke Swap has become a fan-favorite part of Weekend Update because it breaks the normal rules of the segment.

Instead of delivering jokes they wrote themselves, Colin Jost and Michael Che must read whatever appears on the teleprompter—no matter how outrageous, offensive, or personally embarrassing it might be.

The result is often chaotic, as the anchors realize in real time that they’ve been set up.

And this year, Che clearly came prepared.

Scarlett Johansson Becomes the Running Target

For several years now, Che has made it a tradition to sneak jokes about Scarlett Johansson into the swap—much to the horror of Colin Jost, who is married to the Hollywood star.

The 2025 swap doubled down on that running gag.

As Jost began reading one joke after another, it quickly became clear that Che had loaded the teleprompter with increasingly brutal punchlines aimed directly at Johansson.

Each new line made the audience laugh harder—and made Jost visibly more uncomfortable.

The Studio Erupts

What makes the moment so funny is the dynamic between the two anchors.

While Colin Jost struggles to get through the jokes without breaking, Michael Che sits beside him grinning, fully aware of the chaos he’s created.

The audience can see Jost realizing—mid-sentence—that he’s about to insult his own wife on national television.

That combination of shock, embarrassment, and genuine laughter is exactly what makes the Christmas Joke Swap so memorable.

A Friendship That Fuels the Comedy

Despite how brutal the jokes can get, the segment works because of the obvious friendship between the two comedians.

The humor doesn’t come from cruelty—it comes from the fact that Michael Che knows exactly how to push Colin Jostinto the most uncomfortable situations possible.

And Jost, knowing he’s been completely set up, has no choice but to read the lines anyway.

One of Weekend Update’s Most Anticipated Moments

By the time the segment ended, fans online were already calling the 2025 swap one of the most savage editions yet.

The combination of surprise jokes, real reactions, and the ongoing Scarlett Johansson running gag has turned the Christmas Joke Swap into one of the most talked-about traditions on Saturday Night Live.

And if history is any indication, viewers already know one thing for sure about next year’s edition:

Michael Che will absolutely try to make Colin Jost read something even worse.