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Colin Jost Reacts to Zoe Saldaña Replacing Scarlett Johansson as Highest-Grossing Actress
Colin Jost is setting the record straight on his and Scarlett Johansson’s marriage story.
After the comedian’s Saturday Night Live costar Michael Che threw a punch at the couple during the March 14 episode of the sketch comedy show, Colin defended his place in their relationship.
“The winners of the annual wife-carrying contest in England was a couple from Finland,” Michael, 42, said during the episode’s “Weekend Update” segment, “while, once again, the winner of the husband-carrying contest was Scarlett.”
Colin—trying to hold back his laughter—waited for the audience to settle down before quipping, “We both put food on the table. They’re different kinds of food.”
Michael’s playful jab comes weeks after Colin, 43, reacted to his wife being dethroned by Zoe Saldaña as the highest-grossing actor of all time.
“Zoe Saldaña—who stars in the new Avatar movie—has surpassed Scarlett Johansson to become the highest grossing actress of all time,” he said during the Jan. 17 episode of SNL while a bar graph of both the actress’ earnings was displayed on-screen. “Okay, well let’s see what happens if you include the box office from Scarlett’s husband’s movies.”
Scarlett’s earnings, which began at $15.4 billion, dropped to $15.1 billion after Colin delivered the punchline. And the comedian couldn’t help but react with the crowd’s laughter. As he added through giggles, “It went down?”
Photo by Roy Rochlin/Getty Images for Universal Pictures and Amblin Entertainment
Thanks to James Cameron’s box office-crushing Avatar: Fire and Ash, which brought in a whopping $1.23 billion at the worldwide box office Jan. 12, according to Box Office Mojo, the total gross of Zoe’s movies bumped up to $16.8 billion, per Screen Rant.
Scarlett, 41, previously held the record at an astounding $16.4 billion, while the rest of the top five is filled out by their Marvel colleagues Samuel L. Jackson, Robert Downey Jr. and Chris Pratt.
But Colin and Scarlett—who tied the knot in 2020—are no strangers to poking fun at each other on the 8H stage. In fact, after Colin referred to the action star’s nether regions as “roast beef” during his and Michael’s annual joke swap in 2024, Scarlett spoke out about the viral moment.
Photo by Michael Loccisano/Getty Images
"I just can't believe that they went there," the Jurassic World star—mom to daughter Rose, 11, with ex-husband Romain Dauriac and Cosmo, 4, with the Weekend Update co-anchor—told InStyle in an interview published in March 2025. "It was so vulgar. It was so gross. It was really gross. And, like, old-school gross."
And even Colin acknowledged that perhaps the joke went too far.
"I’m in trouble I think with a lot of people," he said on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon in January 2025. "Scarlett was genuinely so shocked."
Read on for more jaw-dropping SNL jokes about Scarlett and Colin...
NBC
Christmas Joke Swap 2024
Weekend Update took the sharpest NSFW turn ever on the Dec. 21, 2024 episode (watch the segment here).
"Costco has removed the roast beef sandwich from its menu," Colin Jost began on Weekend Update, reading the lines Michael Che wrote for him for their joke swap, which they do not see in advance. "But I ain't trippin'. I've been eating roast beef every night since my wife had the kid."
Scarlett Johansson—who shares son Cosmo, 3, with Jost and is also a mom to daughter Rose, 10, from her previous marriage to Romain Dauriac—was then shown backstage, watching her husband on a TV screen and mouthing the words, "Oh my God!"
The actress' husband continued, "No, no, I'm just playin', baby. You know I don't go downtown."
NBC
SNL Season 50 Finale
Jost and Johansson later paid Che back for the Christmas 2024 joke swap incident on SNL's season 50 finale in May 2025. (Watch the Weekend Update segment here.)
"You know, last time we did 'joke swap,' I made Colin do some tasteless jokes comparing your vagina to Costco roast beef," Che told the actress. "Well, the fact is, I was just lashing out because I'm jealous. I've never even seen a human vagina."
Che then turned his attention to his costar. "And, Colin, I'm sorry, too, because I owe you everything," he said. "When Colin discovered me, I was selling crack outside the Bronx Zoo. And now look at me, selling crack outside the American Girl doll store."
Christmas Joke Swap 2023: "Little Art Movies"
Colin read a joke from Che that noted how he could finally watch the Black Widow star's "little art movies" to end the last Weekend Update of the year. (Watch the SNL segment here.)
SNL Season 49 Finale Weekend Update Joke Swap 2025
In March 2024, Che wrote a joke for Jost referencing Johansson's good looks to relay on the last Weekend Update of the season. (Watch the SNL segment here.)
"ChatGPT has released a new voice assistant feature inspired by Scarlett Johansson's AI character in Her," Jost said. "Which I've never bothered to watch, because without that body, what's the point of listening?"
Christmas Joke Swap 2020: Taking It Higher
Che had Jost reference Johansson after reporting some movie casting news. (Watch the segment here.)
"It was announced that Creed singer Scott Stapp will play Frank Sinatra in an upcoming movie," the actress' husband said. "But the good news is, Sammy Davis Jr. will be played by Scarlett Johansson."
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