Sep
Michael Che Reflects on Colin Jost’s ‘Weekend Update’ Joke That Infuriated Him
Michael Che Reflects on Colin Jost’s ‘Weekend Update’ Joke That Infuriated Him
Michael Che and Colin Jost’s Saturday Night Live partnership hasn’t always been smooth sailing. In a recent interview on the Fly on the Wall podcast with Dana Carvey and David Spade, the co-hosts of “Weekend Update” reminisced about moments when they’ve clashed over jokes, revealing a particularly contentious one.
Che brought up a joke from Jost that he found especially aggravating. “Yeah, I think ‘jalapeño business’—I was pretty furious about that one,” Che said, referring to a pun that sounded like “all up in your business.” Jost responded with a grin, “You were just upset that it worked so well.”
Che recounted his reaction during a run-through of the joke. “I remember when you did it in rehearsal, because I had never heard it before,” Che said. “I don’t recall the setup, but the punchline was ‘jalapeño business.’ I told him, ‘If you tell that joke on air, I’m leaving. I’m quitting the show.’ And then he did it on air and it was a hit. I was so frustrated. I thought, ‘I don’t even know what we’re doing anymore.’”
Jost, for his part, admitted that he wasn’t particularly enthusiastic about the joke initially. However, Che’s strong reaction only made him more determined to include it. “I would have honestly cut it if it wasn’t so upsetting to you,” Jost confessed. “And then I was like, ‘I’m definitely, definitely doing this.’”
Jost added that he doesn’t remember the joke’s setup either, believing that the punchline stands strong without context. “It doesn’t need it. You could say it without context,” he remarked.
The controversial jalapeño joke aired during the season 40 finale in May 2015. In that “Weekend Update” segment, Jost introduced it as one of the jokes they were bringing back from earlier in the season. The setup involved a woman in Ohio who allegedly stabbed her boyfriend for eating all their salsa.
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