Actress Scarlett Johansson appeared on The Kelly Clarkson Show on Thursday, 11th, 2024, where she admitted to having “blacked out” after being shown a clip of her husband and host of Saturday Night Live, Colin Jost, making a joke about her body as part of a segment of the comedy show.
“ChatGPT released a new feature inspired by Scarlett Johansson’s AI character on Her,” begins the gag, “which I’ve never bothered to watch because without that body what’s the point of listening.”
Highlights
- Scarlett Johansson admitted she 'blacked out' after seeing her husband Colin Jost joke about her body on SNL.
- Jost was visibly uncomfortable reading the joke as it was part of SNL's segment where co-hosts surprise each other.
- The SNL joke also touched on a controversy over ChatGPT's new AI voice resembling Johansson's, which upset her.
Scarlett Johansson “blacked out” when husband Colin Jost was forced to make a joke about her body on Saturday Night Live
Image credits: Kristina Bumphrey/Getty Images
The comedian was visibly uncomfortable while delivering the joke, stuttering at the beginning of its delivery. And there’s a very good reason for it—he was forced to deliver it.
For the uninitiated, SNL’s Weekend Update features a segment where Jost and his co-host Michael Che exchange jokes written by each other, in hopes of putting the other in embarrassing situations.
Image credits: Saturday Night Live
The point of the joke is more about putting Jost in an uncomfortable position than ridiculing Johansson, by forcing him to read, unprepared, a teleprompter message making fun of his wife.
Host Kelly Clarkson was surprised by the fact that the segment forces each comedian to read the jokes out loud, without any warning
Image credits: Saturday Night Live
“I love that they do this and then he just has to read it like Ron Burgundy, like an anchorman,” said Clarkson. “Is it real, like he has no idea about what he’s about to say?” The host asked.
“That’s a tame version,” responded the actress.
“We needed to go to witness protection after that night,” she joked and explained that the bi-annual segment always has her terrified at the prospect of her marriage being the butt of a risqué joke.
“It’s so bad. I black out for that period of the night.”
“I love that it’s live and he just has to say it!”, added Clarkson.
"That's the PG version. It’s brutal. I actually don’t remember any of it,” the actress responded, blaming her memory lapse on the sheer cringe-worthiness of the moment.
The gag also touched on a recent controversy over ChatGPT’s latest AI Voice “Sky” unintentionally resembling the actress’
Image credits: The Kelly Clarkson Show
Johansson said she was left “angered” and “shocked” after ChatGPT unveiled its new “Voice Mode” on May 14th, 2024, featuring a female voice that closely resembled hers.
In an official statement, OpenAI’s CEO Sam Altman clarified that, “the voice of Sky is not Scarlett Johansson's, and it was never intended to resemble hers.” He confirmed that they won’t use the voice in any product moving forward.
Image credits: The Kelly Clarkson Show
Netizens on Reddit were quick to dispute the statement, with one user arguing that “OpenAI intended to use her for monetary gain. They approached her multiple times asking for her likeness, and when she turned it down, they just emulated it.”
Viewers appreciated getting to know Johansson’s reaction at the joke written by Michael Che
Image credits: John Lamparski/Getty Images
“Weekend update is the best part of the show, and the joke swaps are the best part of weekend update,” said one viewer on The Kelly Clarkson’s Show official Youtube channel.
Another one added, “I've always wondered what it's like for Scarlett to listen to these. She appreciates the brilliance of the whole bit but blacks out on the ones about her - fair enough.”
One even appreciated Johansson’s voice in the movie Her saying, “until I watched Her I was not particularly that impressed with Scarlett's acting. But hearing how mesmerizing just her voice was in Her changed my opinion 180 degrees.”
“Scarlet should hire Che in one of her movies and beat his character up!”, joked another hoping to see the Black Widow actress take revenge on his husband’s co-host.
"That joke was BRUTAL," said one viewer while others laughed at the awkwardness of the situation
