Michael Che prompted the burn for their annual “Joke Swap” segment.
“Saturday Night Live” had a last-minute holiday gift for fans as the show’s final episode of 2020 found Colin Jost roasting his own wife, Scarlett Johansson.
Although the sketch show was a festive smorgasbord filled with Kristen Wiig’s return to hosting, a murderous Pigeon Lady from “Home Alone 2” and a new Joe Biden, the main stocking stuffer was the traditional “Joke Swap” between Jost and Michael Che.
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In it, the “Weekend Update” hosts write each other offensive jokes and have them read it live without seeing it beforehand. While Che had to endure a crack about being a Jeffrey Epstein stan, Jost got the short end of the stick with a whitewashed casting zing about Johansson.
“It was announced that Creed singer Scott Stapp will play Frank Sinatra in an upcoming movie,” Jost said, before reading the punchline. “But the good news is Sammy Davis Jr. will be played by Scarlett Johansson.”
The burn referred to the casting controversies surrounding the “Black Widow” star, including the backlash she received for starring in “Ghost in the Shell,” which critics claimed the role should have gone to an Asian actor.
She was also tapped to play a transgender man in the film “Rub and Tug,” but later pulled out, telling As If, “In hindsight, I mishandled that situation. I was uneducated. So I learned a lot through that process. I misjudged that.”
After he finished with the zing, Jost immediately buried his face in his hand.
Also in the show, Wiig not only brought her beloved “surprised” Sue and Secret Password Mindy Gracin back to life, she slayed as the Pigeon Lady from the sequel to “Home Alone”
During the parody, the homeless Pigeon Lady finally convinces Kevin McCallister (Melissa Villaseñor) to put her up at the Plaza with his father’s credit card. When the Wet Bandits (Kyle Mooney and Mikey Day) appear to foil the plan, Pigeon Lady attacks them with her umbrella in a bloody rage.
“This is my ticket out of here. Die!” she said, as Kevin made his famous hand-to-face scream.
Meanwhile, the cold open introduced cast member Alex Moffat as the new Joe Biden, just hours after Jim Carrey announced he would not be playing the President-elect anymore.
During the COVID vaccination event for Mike Pence (Beck Bennett), the Vice-President said Biden (Moffat) looked “different.” Biden responded, “I’m like Colonel Sanders. Every time you see me, I’m a different guy. This time next year I’m going to be Mario Lopez.”
And when Kamala Harris (Maya Rudolph) showed up, Pence asked her, “How did you even get into the White House?”
“I won more votes,” Harris shot back.
“Saturday Night Live” airs on NBC at 11:30 p.m. ET.