Michael Che Pulls April Fool's Prank on Colin Jost During 'SNL's Weekend Update

By Michael Hein

"Weekend Update" co-hosts Michael Che and Colin Jost have been pranking each other for years, so this weekend Che had to think outside the box. In honor of April Fool's Day, Che enlisted the entire live audience at Saturday Night Live to help him play a joke on Jost. It was simple yet devastating – Che asked the audience not to laugh at one of Jost's self-deprecating jokes.

Jost was reading the news about former President Donald Trump's indictment when Che's joke landed. He said: "At this point, it feels like even pro-Trump people have moved on. I mean, I went down to the courthouse today, and I was the only protester there." Jost maintained his deadpan stare at the camera as a very thin trickle of laughs met his joke. One audience member even yelled out: "You stink!" As Jost put his head in his hands, Che admitted to the joke.

"I told them not to laugh at you for April Fool's," he said, and both he and Jost broke down into genuine laughter along with the audience. Jost was clearly relieved, not wanting the audience to think he would protest on behalf of Trump. As Che tried to move onto the next story, he continued to cry out in astonishment, saying: "You're evil!"

Jost was so distracted he could hardly move on with the sketch. He said: "That's the meanest thing you've ever done to me. I am covered in sweat." Jost and Che have a long history of cracking jokes at each others' expense – most famously in their "joke swap" segment, where each of them write jokes that the other is required to read on air no matter what they say. Che often forces Jost to read jokes that imply Jost is racist, and this gag has spilled over into their other material over the years.

The dynamic between Che and Jost has blossomed over the last nine years, and it has die-hard fans as well as eye-rolling critics. For better or worse, it may be coming to an end soon. In March of 2022, Che reportedly told the audience at a stand-up show that he would be leaving SNL after Season 48. He later denied this in an Instagram post, but then mentioned in an interview with CBS News that he is uncertain about his future on SNL.

SNL will be back this weekend with host Molly Shannon and musical guests The Jonas Brothers on April 8. It is scheduled to return the following weekend as well with host Ana de Armas and musical guest Karol G on April 15. The latest episodes are streaming now on Peacock and Hulu.

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