Weekend Update is aSaturday Night Live sketch and satirical news program that comments on andparodies current events. It is the show's longest-runningrecurring sketch, having been on since the show's first broadcast and been featured in the vast majority of episodes since. It is typically presented in the middle of the show immediately after the first musical performance, and with some exceptions is the only sketch not to feature the episode's host.
The format of the sketch involves one or two of the players cast in the role ofnews anchor, presenting news headlines based on current events that are immediately followed by a gag commentary that twists the context into something humorous. The anchors also act as hosts for occasional editorials, commentaries, or other performances by othercast members or guests, either playing fictionalized versions of themselves, impressions of real-life figures, or invented characters; these guests often display eccentric behavior and baffling commentaries, with the anchors acting asstraight people reacting accordingly.
In modern times, dedicated anchors are chosen among writing staff, often lead writers, in lieu of cast or featured players, although anchors still occasionally appear in other sketches.Chevy Chase, the original cast member filling the role of the anchor, has said thatWeekend Update paved the way for comedic news shows likeThe Daily Show andThe Colbert Report,[1] and severalWeekend Update hosts have gone on to host their ownlate-night talk shows, most notably fellowNBC propertiesLate Night (Jimmy Fallon andSeth Meyers) andThe Tonight Show (Fallon). The current hosts of the segment are writing staff members and former lead writersColin Jost andMichael Che; they also hold the longest tenures of anyWeekend Update host, with Jost beating out Che by eight episodes.
Weekend Update was created by original anchorChevy Chase andSNL writersHerb Sargent andAl Franken.[2] The sketch appeared on the firstSNL broadcast on October 11, 1975, as the weekly "Update" to NBC News' monthly news magazine "Weekend", hence "Weekend Update". Chase popularized severalcatchphrases during the segment, such as his "I'm Chevy Chase... and you're not" greeting; and his repeated announcement that "Generalissimo Francisco Franco is still dead".Weekend Update segments frequently opened with Chase having an intimate conversation with someone on the phone, unaware he was "on the air." Chase endedWeekend Update with what became its signature catchphrase: "That's the news...good night, and have a pleasant tomorrow."
In addition,Garrett Morris parodied the practice of a picture insert of a person delivering the news in sign language for the hearing impaired. Chase would announce, "...and now, I shall repeat the top news story, assisted by the President of the Society for The Hard of Hearing." Chase would then repeat the story while Morris simply cupped his mouth and yelled the headline.
Jane Curtin substituted for Chase duringSeason 2 for a few shows due to Chase's injury. Subsequently, she replaced him when he left in the fall of 1976. Curtin stayed as anchor until the end of Season 5 in 1980. She finished Season 2 solo but was then paired with co-anchorsDan Aykroyd (1977–1978) andBill Murray (1978–1980), with Aykroyd being "promoted" to "Station Manager" in September 1978.
A frequent feature ofWeekend Update during this time was "Point/Counterpoint", a send-up of the then-current60 Minutes segment of the same name withJames J. Kilpatrick andShana Alexander.SNL's version featured Curtin and Aykroyd as debaters, with each makingpersonal attacks on the other and their positions; a common pattern had Aykroyd announcing the topic, followed by Curtin making an opening statement, with Aykroyd retorting "Jane, you ignorant slut" and Curtin replying "Dan, you pompous ass".[3][4][5][6][7][8][9][10]
Other popular guests during Curtin's tenure as anchor includedJohn Belushi andGilda Radner's charactersEmily Litella andRoseanne Roseannadanna. During Curtin's tenure as host, she opened eachWeekend Update segment withRoger Grimsby's "Here now, the news" sign-on, and closed with Chase's "That's the news. Goodnight and have a pleasant tomorrow".
Charles Rocket (later teamed withGail Matthius) anchored during the one-season(1980–1981) tenure of new executive producerJean Doumanian. Rocket is notable as being the onlyWeekend Update anchor to have experience as a real news anchor, having served as anchorman atKOAA-TV inPueblo, Colorado, under his birth name Charles Claverie andWTVF inNashville under the name Charles Kennedy.
Rocket's final appearance was on the penultimate episode of the season, airing on March 7, 1981, and hosted byBill Murray. For that episode,Weekend Update received a one-time name and set change to "Saturday Night NewsLine"[11] and featured three segments:[12] science edition, hosted by Dr. Jonathan Lear (Mark King), arts and leisure correspondent Bill Murray, and news by Rocket. Rocket signed off each week by saying "Good night and watch out."
Prior to the final episode of the season, Jean Doumanian and most of the cast, including Rocket, were fired. Chase hosted the last episode and anchoredWeekend Update, as he had on his previous appearances as host.
The anchor position changed hands frequently underDick Ebersol, executive producer ofSNL from 1981 to 1985.Brian Doyle-Murray was teamed first withMary Gross, then going solo for three months, then back with Gross for one more month before finally being teamed withChristine Ebersole for the remainder of the season. Doyle-Murray signed off each week with "Good night, and good news."
Brad Hall took over the desk of the retitled "Saturday Night News" in 1982 through most of the 1983 season. By the 1983 season, he began signing out with phrase "Thanks for coming out in the rain!" Hall was removed from the anchor position halfway through the 1983–84 season. For the rest of the season, and into the next, there were no regular anchors—both cast members andSNL guest-hosts took turns at the chair (Hall himself left the show at the end of the 1983–1984 season). In December 1984,Christopher Guest became the new anchor. However, within this period, theSNL broadcast of December 8, 1984, is the only episode to not feature the satirical news segment on the show, at all.
In 1985,Lorne Michaels returned to produce the show, bringing theWeekend Update name back with him. The new anchor wasDennis Miller, who remained in the chair for six years, the longest run for a soloWeekend Update anchor. Miller opened the segments by saying "Good evening, and what can I tell ya?" and signed off by saying "Guess what, folks? That's the news, and I am outta here!" He would then scribble nonsense on his script, sometimes throwing it into the air. Miller leftSNL in 1991. Dana Carvey did a memorable mockery of Miller anchoring during this period, to the point Carvey's impersonation woulditself become another character, being further impersonated byTom Hanks simply dressing as Miller and clucking like a chicken.[citation needed]
During many of his Weekend Update segments, Miller was joined by The Weekend Update Dancers andA. Whitney Brown for his commentary "The Big Picture".
Kevin Nealon took over with his "Mr. Subliminal" character and as thestraight man in many highlights such as "Operaman" and "Cajun Man" (with both characters being played byAdam Sandler) and also forChris Farley's "Bennett Brauer" character. Nealon had a three-year stint at theUpdate desk before requesting his departure, as he felt his time behind the desk was drawing away from other acting opportunities on the show. Nealon signed off with the tagline "I'm Kevin Nealon, and that's news to me".
Norm Macdonald, whom Chase called "the only other guy who did [the segment] funny,"[13] took over the role for Season 20.Al Franken, whose history withSNL dated back to 1975, had been lobbying to replace Nealon asWeekend Update host. Accordingly, Franken left the show after losing the anchor spot.[14] Although Nealon no longer anchoredWeekend Update, he still remained on the show until the end of Season 20. Macdonald would open each segment with "I'm Norm Macdonald, and now the fake news."
Running gags by Macdonald included punchlines involvingFrank Stallone and Germans lovingDavid Hasselhoff. In his last two seasons, he introduced another recurring gag where he would read a news story and then record a "note to self" on a tape recorder regarding the story he had just read. One of the most frequent guest correspondents during Macdonald's run was Joe Blow (played byColin Quinn), a blue-collar guy who would rant about things that bother him. He would often make Macdonald uncomfortable and always ask when they were "gonna go for a beer together," to which Macdonald would always end up turning him down. His sign off was frequently "And that's the way it is", emulatingWalter Cronkite's famous sign-off phrase.
Another common topic of Macdonald's jokes wasO. J. Simpson afterhis arrest and trial for murder. For example, he joked that "A down-and-out O. J. Simpson ... has decided to go back to doing what he does best: killing people," and upon Simpson's acquittal he declared "well, it is finally official: murder is legal in the state of California."SNL writerJim Downey recalled that "we did, like three solid years of, like, 60 shows of O.J. jokes in a row." Macdonald made his final appearance asWeekend Update anchor in December 1997, after NBC executiveDon Ohlmeyer—a longtime friend of Simpson, who had previously told Michaels to not let his friendship affect the show—demanded Macdonald's dismissal from the segment, despite Michaels's protest that making the change in the middle of the season would be difficult for the show. Ohlmeyer told Macdonald that he was fired because he was not funny.[13]
Macdonald was replaced byColin Quinn, who started on the first episode after Macdonald had been removed and served through the 1999–2000 season. His first edition ofWeekend Update began with "Have you ever gone to a bar and found that your favorite bartender was replaced with a guy named Steve?" He would pause for a beat before continuing, "Well, I'm Steve; what can I get you?" His sign-off, borrowing from aCollin Raye song, was "I'm Colin Quinn,that's my story and I'm sticking to it!"
For the first half of the 1998–1999 season, Quinn would do a pre-desk monologue, where he would provide commentary and rant about the week's biggest news stories. This feature was discontinued after the January 16, 1999, episode.
Quinn stepped down fromWeekend Update after 1999–2000, when he leftSNL at the end of the season. He anchored the segment for two-and-a-half seasons.
Over the summer of 2000, cast members auditioned to be replacements. Among the candidates were stand-up comicsKevin Brennan andJeffrey Ross plus two duos: Ana Gasteyer withChris Parnell, andJimmy Fallon with writerTina Fey.[15] The latter duo was chosen, and they made their first on-air appearance that October. Fallon ended eachWeekend Update sketch by throwing his pencil at the camera and cheering if he managed to hit it. Fey often signed off with Chase and Curtin's "Good night, and have a pleasant tomorrow".
Recurring features of the Fallon/Fey era included the "Update Door," a door on the left of the set where celebrities, as impersonated bySNL cast members (and at one time theLand Shark) would walk through to do a commentary—a segment called "Terrible ReEnactments", in whichChris Kattan would do an intentionally bad re-enactment of a news story that had occurred during the week (usually the story involved a celebrity being injured); and regular appearances fromJeff Richards's Drunk Girl character.
Chris Parnell announced the intro for the first season. He was then followed by futureUpdate co-anchorAmy Poehler.
Fallon left to pursue a film career in 2004, and was replaced by fellow cast memberAmy Poehler as co-anchor, giving the sketch its first two-woman anchor team. Fallon became the announcer for theWeekend Update intro for the next few seasons.
The 2005–2006 season began with Poehler returning to her seat behind the desk.
The segment is featured in the 2006 filmMan of the Year in which Robin Williams appears onWeekend Update alongside Poehler and Fey.
Fey temporarily left the show after giving birth to her first child and was replaced briefly byHoratio Sanz as co-anchor (Sanz wore horn-rimmed glasses during Fey's absence). Fey returned to the show in October for the season's third live episode.
After the departure of Fey, Poehler continued as co-anchor along with new co-anchorSeth Meyers for the 2006–2007 season.[16] The duo began a string of running gags, including "Really!?! with Seth and Amy", in which the pair lambast celebrities for lack of common sense. Poehler leftSNL in fall 2008 to give birth to her first child.
During the 2007–2008 season, two previous hosts returned to theWeekend Update desk for one-off appearances–Chevy Chase, as "Senior Political Correspondent" and Tina Fey, as "Special Women's News Correspondent". Women's News was a running segment during the Fey/Poehler era.[17] Alaska GovernorSarah Palin also appeared onWeekend Update once during the 2008–09 season and ended the segment with the traditional "Good night and have a pleasant tomorrow", as Poehler had left her seat to perform a "Sarah Palin rap".
Beginning October 25, 2008, Meyers anchored the segment alone with Poehler still being credited, but not appearing. On December 6, 2008, Poehler returned, four weeks after the birth of her child, to doWeekend Update with Meyers, but on the December 13, 2008,Weekend Update she announced to the audience that the show was her last one.
After that, Meyers continued anchoringWeekend Update solo. The "Really!?!" celebrity-mocking gag (retitled "Really!?! with Seth") remained, featuring various hosts and guests includingTracy Morgan andJerry Seinfeld in March 2009 andKermit the Frog in November 2011. In May 2010, Poehler returned to do it once more, alongside Tina Fey as well.
A running gag of this era wasBobby Moynihan's portrayal ofSnooki fromJersey Shore. Moynihan displays a certain attraction to Meyers, who makes fun of the general attitude of the cast members ofJersey Shore as well as Snooki's own personal attributes. Another popular segment was city correspondentStefon, played byBill Hader.
During his time in office, New York GovernorDavid Paterson (played byFred Armisen) often appeared as a guest on the segment, and which often featured jokes about Paterson's blindness and his apparent hatred for the state of New Jersey. In the premiere episode ofSNL's36th season, Paterson himself made a guest appearance onWeekend Update next to Armisen. Amy Poehler, who had returned to host the episode, co-anchoredWeekend Update as she traditionally did before her departure.
On the December 17, 2011, episode, which was hosted by Jimmy Fallon, multiple former anchors returned for a "Weekend Update Joke-Off". Along with Meyers, the anchors included Fallon, Poehler, and Fey.
Entertainment Weekly confirmed that Amy Poehler would appear onSaturday Night Live Weekend Update Thursday for at least two broadcasts as co-anchor in fall 2009.[18] For the third episode ofWeekend Update Thursday, Seth Meyers anchored solo. After each episode, the anchor(s) would throw toParks and Recreation. Lorne Michaels had stated that there would be six more episodes ofWeekend Update Thursday; however, the spring 2010 episodes were scrapped.[citation needed]
Poehler returned on both the February 18, 2012, and May 18, 2013, episodes to perform "Really!?! with Seth and Amy" twice more. In both instances, Meyers asked her if she would like to co-anchor with him again for the rest of that segment; he was barely able to finish asking before she accepted.
In the February 16, 2025,SNL50: The Anniversary Special, Meyers returned to anchor one section ofWeekend Update, reuniting with longtime Meyers guest, Fred Armisen, who, alongsideVanessa Bayer, reprised their recurring Update roles as "best friends from growing up."[19]
On May 12, 2013, NBC announced that Seth Meyers would become the new host ofLate Night in 2014, succeeding Jimmy Fallon, who would take over as the new host ofThe Tonight Show. In September 2013, Lorne Michaels confirmed that Meyers, who would stay on atSNL for at least the first half ofthe show's 39th season, would be joined at theWeekend Update anchor desk by a new co-anchor,Cecily Strong, beginning with the show's season premiere on September 28, 2013. Strong, who joinedSNLthe previous season and had been upgraded to repertory status in the cast for her sophomore season, was no stranger to the segment, making visits to theWeekend Update desk as her recurring character "The Girl You Wish You Hadn't Started a Conversation with at a Party". Michaels, who also producesLate Night, hinted at Meyers potentially dropping in asWeekend Update co-anchor, noting that Meyers'sLate Night will not tape on Friday nights.[20] Meyers and Strong sign off with "For 'Weekend Update', I'm Seth Meyers!" "And I'm Cecily Strong, good night!" before performing afist bump or blowing kisses to the audience.
On February 1, 2014, Meyers performed his final episode ofSNL and was joined at theWeekend Update desk by Strong, Poehler, Hader in character as Stefon,Andy Samberg, and Armisen as Governor Paterson.
SNL writerColin Jost replaced Meyers as co-anchor ofWeekend Update beginning with the March 1 episode, which was hosted byJim Parsons.[21][22][23] For the duration of this tenure, Strong stayed to the right side while Jost went to the left. Strong led off each broadcast except for the May 3, 2014 episode hosted byAndrew Garfield, when Jost led off.
Comedian andSNL writerMichael Che replaced Cecily Strong beginning with the season 40 premiere, hosted byChris Pratt.[24] Che's pairing with Colin Jost is the first in which both anchors are male. Che is also the first African-AmericanWeekend Update anchor. As of the 2024–25 season, Jost and Che are the longest tenuredUpdate anchors in the show's history, with Jost becoming the longest runningWeekend Update anchor on October 23, 2021,[25] and Che rising to second place on January 29, 2022.[26]
Che led off the broadcast on his premiere episode. Starting with the October 4, 2014, episode hosted bySarah Silverman, each anchor tells at least one extended joke per segment.
So far, this era features many appearances from cast members playing some version of themselves, most notablyPete Davidson andLeslie Jones. Longtime cast memberKenan Thompson has also developed several new characters and impressions, including Willie, Michael Che's fictional neighbor. Thompson also has brought on impressions of former MLB starDavid Ortiz andLaVar Ball. WithCecily Strong no longer anchoringWeekend Update, she reprised characters likeThe Girl You Wish You Hadn't Started a Conversation with at a Party andCathy Anne, a woman with a southern accent who hits on Michael Che.
On October 13, 2018, former cast member/Weekend Update anchor Seth Meyers hosted the show for the first time since taking over hostingLate Night, and he returned toWeekend Update for the first time since he left the show, in a segment called "Really?!? With Seth, Colin, and Michael", a callback to the "Really?!? With Seth and Amy" segments. This time, Meyers, Jost, and Che talk and joke about rapperKanye West (a Trump supporter) visiting theWhite House.
For theThanksgiving episode in 2015, Jost and Che did a joke swap, where they each read a joke written for them by the other. Since season 44 in 2018, at the end of eachChristmas show and season finale (except for season 47 and 48) Jost and Che have continued this segment, with both of them reading multiple jokes written by the other (except for the season 45 finale, where only Jost read a joke written by Che).[27] During the segment, Jost's jokes for Che regularly consist of Che acting sleazy, often includingbestiality andchild sexual abuse, while Che forces Jost to say highly racist and sexist jokes, sometimes at the expense of his wifeScarlett Johansson, and to make him defend controversial figures such asWoody Allen andHarvey Weinstein.[28][29] In 2024, Johansson was present in Studio 8H during the segment and reacted to Jost deliver jokes centered around the recent birth of their child.[30]
Due toCOVID-19 issues, the December 18, 2021 episode was filmed with no audience and a limited cast and crew.Weekend Update was still performed, but Jost was not part of the episode's cast, as he had tested positive for COVID.[31] Tina Fey made a surprise guest appearance to fill in for Jost; due to the reduced staff, the segment was performed on chairs placed on the main stage rather than its usual newsroom set.[32][33][34]
For the 2025SNL50: The Anniversary Special, many familiar faces returned to the Update desk, includingBobby Moynihan who reprised his popular character, Drunk Uncle, Cecily Strong who returned as, The Girl You Wish You Hadn't Started a Conversation with at a Party, and Bill Murray, who appeared to offer his ranking of the best ever Weekend Update Anchors, listing: "10. Colin Quinn, 9. Kevin Nealon, 8. Dennis Miller, 7. Seth Meyers, 6. Fey and Jimmy Fallon, 5. Fey and Poehler, 4. Chevy Chase, 3. Jane Curtin and Dan Aykroyd, 2. Norm Macdonald, 1. His brother Brian Doyle-Murray."[35]
A total of 32 people have anchored theWeekend Update desk. Below is a complete list of any and all who have served as an anchor at one time or another, and the season(s) in which they served. Note that throughout most of 1984, different cast members, special guests, or the weekly host handled the task. Those individuals (denoted initalics) are also listed below.
Season 1 (1975–1976)
Season 2 (1976–1977)
Season 3 (1977–1978)
Seasons 4–5 (1978–1980)
Season 6 (1980–1981)
Season 7 (1981–1982)
Season 8 (1982–1983)
Season 9 (1983–1984)
Season 10 (1984–1985):
Seasons 11–16 (1985–1991):
Seasons 17–19 (1991–1994):
Seasons 20–22 (1994–1997):
Season 23 (1997–1998):
Seasons 24–25 (1998–2000):
Seasons 26–29 (2000–2004):
Seasons 30–31 (2004–2006):
Seasons 32–33 (2006–2008)
Season 34 (2008–2009)
Seasons 35–38 (2009–2013)
Season 39 (2013–2014)
Season 40–present (2014–present)
| Cast Member | Tenure | Total seasons | Total episodes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Colin Jost | March 1, 2014 – present | 11 seasons+ | 226 episodes |
| Michael Che | September 27, 2014 – present | 10 seasons+ | 219 episodes |
| Seth Meyers | September 30, 2006 – February 1, 2014 | 8 seasons | 154 episodes |
| Tina Fey | October 7, 2000 – May 21, 2005, October 22, 2005 – May 20, 2006 and December 18, 2021 | 7 seasons | 118 episodes |
| Dennis Miller | November 9, 1985 – May 18, 1991 | 6 seasons | 111 episodes |
| Jimmy Fallon | October 7, 2000 – May 15, 2004 | 4 seasons | 80 episodes |
| Amy Poehler | October 2, 2004 – October 18, 2008, December 6–13, 2008, May 16, 2009, and September 25, 2010 | 6 seasons | 80 episodes |
| Jane Curtin | September 25, 1976 – May 24, 1980 | 4 seasons | 78 episodes |
| Norm Macdonald | September 24, 1994 – December 13, 1997 | 4 seasons | 69 episodes |
| Kevin Nealon | September 28, 1991 – May 14, 1994 | 3 seasons | 60 episodes |
| Colin Quinn | January 10, 1998 – May 20, 2000 | 3 seasons | 50 episodes |
| Bill Murray | October 7, 1978 – May 24, 1980 | 2 seasons | 40 episodes |
| Chevy Chase | October 11, 1975 – October 30, 1976, February 18, 1978, April 11, 1981, and December 6, 1986 | 2 seasons | 32 episodes |
| Brad Hall | September 25, 1982 – December 10, 1983 | 2 seasons | 28 episodes |
| Cecily Strong | September 28, 2013 – May 17, 2014 | 1 season | 21 episodes |
| Dan Aykroyd | September 24, 1977 – May 20, 1978 | 1 season | 20 episodes |
| Brian Doyle-Murray | October 3, 1981 – May 22, 1982 | 1 season | 20 episodes |
| Charles Rocket | November 15, 1980 – March 7, 1981 | 1 season | 12 episodes |
| Christopher Guest | December 1, 1984 – April 13, 1985 | 1 season | 10 episodes |
| Mary Gross | October 3–17, 1981, December 5, 1981, and February 20 – March 20, 1982 | 1 season | 7 episodes |
| Gail Matthius | January 10 – February 21, 1981 | 1 season | 6 episodes |
| Christine Ebersole | March 27 – May 22, 1982 | 1 season | 6 episodes |
| Billy Crystal (as Fernando) | March 17, May 5, and October 6, 1984 | 2 seasons | 3 episodes |
| Horatio Sanz | October 1 & 8, 2005 | 1 season | 2 episodes |
| Joe Piscopo | February 18, 1984 | 1 season | 1 episode |
Several people who have never been SNL cast members appeared asWeekend Update guest anchors (or co-anchors). All but one of these occurrences took place in 1984, during seasons 9 and 10, when a rotating series ofWeekend Update guest hosts were employed. The only exception took place in 1981, when actor Mark King (as "Dr. Jonathan Lear") made a single co-anchoring appearance during season 6.
In 1998, former Weekend Update hostNorm Macdonald was removed from the position for tackling taboo topics including the highly controversial 1994murder trial of O.J. Simpson.[37] Macdonald's comedic approach to the sensitive subject matter often crossed lines for some viewers and network executives.[38]Don Ohlmeyer, former president ofNBC's West Coast division, was a close friend ofSimpson, and took great offense to Macdonald's jokes, ultimately firing Macdonald for his poor taste in comedy during the23rd season.[39]
Macdonald was immensely popular with audiences, leading to questions about his abrupt removal. Controversy broke out about the comedic freedom regarding sensitive topics highlighting the complex dynamic between the network and talent.[40]
In May 2014, Leslie Jones was criticized for a string of slave jokes. She made a joke aboutLupita Nyong’o (who won theAcademy Award for Best Supporting Actress for playing real-life slave Patsy in12 Years a Slave) being namedPeople magazine’s most beautiful person, saying that during the slave days she herself would’ve been the most sought after, making comments about how she would have been paired with the best guy on that plantation and would have been the number one pick in the "slave draft". OnTwitter she responded in defending her joke and how she was sad she has to defend herself to the black community.[41]
During a joke swap segment, Che was criticized for making jokes about Beyoncé's lighter complexion and blonde hair, aboutScarlett Johansson being a better "Black Widow" thanCoretta Scott King, and facetiously comparing Barack Obama to anAfrican dodo.[42]
In the season 40 finale ofSaturday Night Live in May 2015, during the "Weekend Update" segment, Colin Jost delivered a joke with the punchline "jalapeño business", a pun sounding like "all up in your business". In a 2024 interview on theFly on the Wall podcast with Dana Carvey and David Spade, Michael Che recalled his strong disapproval of the joke, even threatening to quit if it aired.[43] Despite his objections, Jost performed the joke, which received substantial audience laughter, intensifying Che's frustration.[44] Jost admitted he wasn't initially keen on the joke but felt compelled to perform it after seeing Che's upset reaction. Despite the incident, Che remained on the show.
On October 21, 2020, Michael Che discussed the reversal of "don't ask, don't tell" and made a joke calling it "don't ask, don'ttuck". The joke was criticized astransphobic.[45][46]Weekend Update had previously come under fire for a 2016 joke about the dating app Tinder adding 37 gender identity options, a feature which Colin Jost jokingly called, "Why Democrats lost the election".[47]
In an interview forCBS News on May 15, 2022, Che said, "I do think that controversy brings people to talking. And I think as long as people are talking, it's not all that bad."[48]
Scarlett Johansson shared her shock over a "vulgar" joke swap between her husband, Colin Jost, and Michael Che during the December 21, 2024Weekend Update. The segment, where they read each other’s unreviewed jokes, left Johansson stunned as she watched live. She joked that Che might have a vendetta against them, adding, "I honestly feel he's trying to get us permanently removed."[49] Despite the explicit humor, she took it in stride and even suggested getting back at Che with a teleprompter swap onToday With Jenna & Friends. Johansson later hosted the May 17 broadcast, where she got a chance to get back at Che by coming onto theUpdate desk during the joke swap and forcing him to give an embarrassing apology.[50]
During the December 7, 2024, episode of SNL, Jost and Che riffed about the recent assassination of United Healthcare CEO,Brian Thompson. Viewer reactions to the politically divisive jokes were mixed, with People magazine describing how some social media users saying "Making light of someone being murdered is in poor taste," saying that NBC "owes the family an apology."[51]
A segment from the January 25, 2025, episode during Weekend Update depictedEgo Nwodim as a businesswoman concerned about recent actions by President Trump. BET reported that many users on social media thought the bit was "offensive" saying that SNL used "Black women as the butt of a joke."[52]
In November 2018, Pete Davidson sparked controversy onSaturday Night Live'sWeekend Update by mocking then-congressional candidate Dan Crenshaw's eye patch, which he wears due to a combat injury sustained as a Navy SEAL. Davidson joked that Crenshaw looked like "a hitman in a porno movie" and dismissively added, "I know he lost his eye in war or whatever."[53] The remark was widely condemned as insensitive to veterans. The following week, Davidson invited Crenshaw ontoSNL to issue a public apology, calling it "a poor choice of words" and recognizing Crenshaw as a war hero. Crenshaw accepted and used the moment to emphasize national unity and respect for service members.[54] In his 2020 Netflix special,Alive from New York, Pete Davidson expressed that he felt "forced" to apologize to Dan Crenshaw during their 2018Saturday Night Live appearance, stating, "I didn't think I did anything wrong."[55]
[...] asked what he thought of Jon Stewart and Stephen Colbert, [Chase] took credit for their success. "[I] think that, you know, I started it with my Weekend Update," he responds, implying that the ideas for bothThe Daily Show andThe Colbert Report came directly from WU.