Michael Che Is Roasting Colin Jost on Instagram Stories

The tough thing about the semi-annual Weekend Update joke swap is that Michael Che gets only a couple of (official) chances a year to poke fun at the unbearable whiteness of Colin Jost. Maybe that’s why he recently took to his Instagram Stories to fire more shots at Jost and Scarlett Johansson — phony insults some Che fans took seriously.

Thanks to Redditor mooncat31 for screengrabbing a series of images from Che’s Instagram Stories before they disappeared, all featuring DMs between fans (?) and Che delivering scorching burns at Jost’s expense. 

“lol i ever tell yall about the time colin told me and 2 other black writers that slavery wasn’t much different than an internship..? and that the ‘north’ owed his family an apology..?” 

That was Che’s opening shot, exactly the kind of “Look, Jost is a racist!” punchline that Che would make his co-anchor read during a joke swap. But he was just getting started, posting a bunch of other grabs from DM conversations as well:

• “i remember my first year as head writer at snl colin staged a walkout, cause he, quote, ‘didn’t sign up to work at in living color!’”
• “one time he told me he thinks we should call february ‘blacks ARE history month’ and we should celebrate it 12 times a year.”
• “part of me just wants to keep things professional. plus his grandfather was a very powerful doctor. not sure if youve ever heard of winfred tuskegee cotton jost, II”

One problem with Che’s DM roasts? Naive fans who believe he’s serious — even when he’s explicitly speaking in punchlines. After Che’s initial joke about slavery, one Instagram user was convinced Jost is a racist: “I bet he shouts the n word whenever the cameras aren’t rolling yup colin is over.”

Che “defended” his partner by doubling down on the joke. “thats one thing ill give him. he will NEVER say the n word. his family even has a saying like, ‘n words shall never touch our lips.’ something about purity..? i can’t remember his explanation.”

As commenters continued to swallow Che’s jokes hook, line and sinker — “i always knew there was something up about him” — Che kept the burns coming. “i dont wanna make it seem like hes ALL bad.. he does hire a lot of people of color.. his driver ‘boy’ is black, and a very nice man. his personal chef ‘girlie’ is a black woman.. his bodyguards are both black, ones name is also ‘boy’ and the others name is also ‘boy.’”

“I’m sorry work is so hostile for you,” sympathized another DM.

“honestly..? im just happy he doesnt drink as much anymore.. he used to get pretty.. not violent, but physical..? like, hed push me on the floor in front of everybody, and point at me, and yell, ‘THIS IS A METAPHOR FOR YOUR PLACE IN SOCIETY!’ im like, broo… we get it..”

A different DM wondered if Johansson knew about her hubby’s bad behavior, which just opened the door for more burns.

“i’m not really sure.. ive met her a bunch, but sometimes i think she doesnt remember me..? like sometimes she’ll hand me her id..? or like, ask ‘what time do you guys close?’ and im like, ummm… i dont work here, and you kno that.. and then she remembers and we laugh, but its honestly weird..”

Johansson was now officially in the crossfire, with another Instagram user writing her off: “Wtf. Makes me not want to watch her movies now…”

You can practically hear Che cackle as he writes back. “one time i called her out on something she said that was racist, and she said she wasnt BEING racist, she was just ‘acting’ racist. And said if i had 2 parents id know the difference. btw, i do have 2 parents. but, whatever.”

Another DM at least was self-aware enough to consider that Che was joking: “bro are you capping rn or am i just really dumb, stupid, and gullible”

“lol and THATS why i dont say anything.. cause like colin always says ‘whos gonna believe your black ass?!’”