After two weeks of news, ‘Weekend Update’ hosts Colin Jost and Michael Che had their work cut out for them on the Apr. 2 episode of ‘Saturday Night Live.’ Digging into the past weeks at hand, Colin and Michael brought their signature brand of jovial jabs to the most notable moments of late, from Putin’s latest moves to the Oscars slap. They even received a visit from O.J. Simpson to comment on the latter situation, played by a pitch-perfect Kenan Thompson.
Colin and Michael didn’t hold back from the first news item they took on, receiving ample cheers as they finally dove back in, immediately creating a joke comparing Ukraine and Will Smith‘s now-infamous slap at the Oscars. Colin couldn’t help but reveal a little smile as he joked that Will’s behavior set a “terrible precedent for having to defend your wife at awards shows.” Colin is married to red-carpet regular Scarlett Johansson, and was clearly referencing himself. Colin concluded: “I think we should all just conclude that that’s one of the craziest things we’ll ever see in our lives.”
Colin and Che break down the slap pic.twitter.com/TnSk7YOgW2
— Saturday Night Live – SNL (@nbcsnl) April 3, 2022
It wouldn’t be ‘Weekend Update’ without a few guest appearances, and this week’s episode certainly wasn’t lacking. The desk first received a visit after Colin and Michael brought up the topic of Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson‘s recent confirmation hearing for the Supreme Court. Cecily Strong as Marsha Blackburn appeared with her best “who-man” accent.
In a promo for the episode shared to SNL’s verified Instagram, Jerrod and musical guest (and fellow SNL) first-timer Gunna. The pair were joined by cast member Heidi Gardner, who urged the duo to bring their “A-game” in a (spoiler alert) successful achievement to get Gunna to say “Gunna gonna” out loud. “It happened,” Heidi joked excitedly after he said the coveted phrase, showing off her enviable ab muscles in a cropped collared shirt with a black bodice. “We’re gonna live forever.”
Before tonight’s episode, SNL had been on hiatus for two weeks, after Zoe Kravitz and Rosalía took on the show on Mar. 12. All season ‘Weekend Update’ has stayed on target, and was especially immediate in condemning the war in Ukraine. On the Feb. 27 episode, hosted by John Mulaney, Colin and Michael made multiple jabs at Vladimir Putin and his behavior. Colin even managed to throw in a jab at their own parent network, comparing Russia’s attacks on Ukraine to NBC’s airing of the Winter Olympics, as far as being a “colossal mistake.”