Colin Jost and Michael Che have forced each other to say and do a lot of crazy things during their semi-annual joke swap segments on SNL, but the two somehow found a way to out-crazy themselves during the season finale by bringing a barber on stage. Che put a stop to the bit before Jost’s head actually got shaved, but everyone left with the impression that Colin was about to actually get rid of his mane. It turns out that’s because he was.
The longtime Weekend Update co-anchor stopped by The Today Show this morning for a chat with Carson Daly. He was, of course, asked about the incident, and he ran through the panicked thoughts that went through his head. He said he assumed they’d cleared it with his wife Scarlett Johansson, who is very familiar with the joke swaps, and the crew for the project he’s about to shoot and was fully prepared to move forward. In retrospect, he has no idea why he was going to say yes, but he was going to say yes. You can read a portion of his quote below…
This starts happening, and I’m just going along with it because I’m like I guess I have to. And then afterwards, I was like why did I think I had to do that? I was prepared. I guess it’s a conversation for my therapist, but I was like why would I just say yeah? In my head, in that quick moment, I immediately was triangulating. I was like I’m sure they talked to Scarlett. She was like, ‘This is an okay time to shave his head.’ I’m supposed to film something this week. I’m sure they talked to production. They have a wig ready for me. This all went through my head.
This was my initial read while watching the show live too. The goal of the joke swap is you can’t show fear. You have to read whatever is on the cue card Ron Burgundy style, and deep down in your soul, you have to know no one will blame you because the other person is in control of your fate. This whole head shaving thing really pushed the boundaries on that, but with almost no time to actually think about it, I’m not surprised Jost screamed internally but also went with it.
You can see what I mean by revisiting the sketch below...
If nothing else, the incident was a great reminder that Che and Jost are just as exciting as ever. In the past, some Weekend Update anchors and/ or partnerships have gotten a little stale at some point. It’s always important to keep SNL feeling fresh, but more than a decade into their tenures, the two friends are still finding ways to push the boundaries and feel fresh. No announcements have been made about their futures, but I sincerely hope they come back, especially because Jost is really coming into his own on the show.
For most of his tenure, the former head writer was known almost exclusively for Weekend Update and his behind the scenes contributions. This season, however, he’s started appearing in a way higher volume of sketches, sometimes playing Secretary Of War Pete Hegseth and sometimes just playing random characters (like Buzz from Home Alone). It turns out he’s quite good at it. Hopefully he gets a chance to keep nurturing that over the next few years, and hopefully he can do so with his glorious hair fully in tact.
