Michael Che's Michael Jackson Weekend Update Joke
by Larry FitzmauriceBuzzFeedBuzzFeed StaffI'm a writer and editor who lives in Brooklyn, New York, and I've written for a variety of publications across the last 20 years, including The New York Times, The Guardian, GQ, New York Magazine, Pitchfork, The Fader—the list goes on.
This post contains discussion of child sexual abuse.
Michael Che and Colin Jost went way further than anyone ever asked them to on last night's SNL season finale.
NBC / Lloyd Bishop/NBC via Getty Images
As you might already know, Michael and Colin have established something of an annual "joke swap" tradition for every season-ending episode. Basically, one of them writes the jokes for the other — without the other knowing what the content of the jokes actually are — as that latter person reads them on air, sight unseen.
NBC / Lloyd Bishop/NBC via Getty Images
Last year, Scarlett Johansson — who, in addition to being an accomplished actor, is also Colin's wife — made a guest appearance to get revenge on Michael for a very raunchy joke he'd written for Colin back in 2024.
SNL
This year's joke swap involved a bit written specifically about none other than Michael Jackson, the late subject of the smash hit biopic Michael. Michael faced multiple allegations of sexually abusing children during his lifetime, and he maintained his innocence while facing said allegations.
Pool / Getty Images
Of course, none of that stopped Colin from seemingly writing the following joke for Michael to read on air: "The movie Michael won the box office again this weekend, and since a few members of the Jackson family are actually in the audience tonight I wanted to take a minute to tell everybody what I really think."
SNL / Lionsgate
"Michael Jackson did nothing wrong! He was right to molest all those kids! And they were lucky. I would have paid him to do it. And I did! That's right. When I was 10 years old Michael Jackson molested ME, and the only thing it gave me was a fetish for middle-aged white women."
SNL / Lionsgate
Y-i-k-e-s. Watch the whole bit below for yourself and decide whether it's in poor taste — I know you'll be letting us know your opinions in the comments:
> wow I'm genuinely shocked SNL was allowed to say this during their annual "joke swap" bit on Weekend Update
Michael Che reading what Colin Jost wrote for him: "The movie 'Michael' won the box office again this weekend, and since a few members of the Jackson family are actually… pic.twitter.com/vV5SiUGgcE
— Spencer Althouse (@SpencerAlthouse) May 17, 2026
@SpencerAlthouse / Via Twitter: @SpencerAlthouse
If you or someone you know has experienced sexual assault, you can call the National Sexual Assault Hotline at 1-800-656-HOPE (4673), which routes the caller to their nearest sexual assault service provider. You can also search for your local center here.
If you are concerned that a child is experiencing or may be in danger of abuse, you can call or text the National Child Abuse Hotline at 1-800-422-4453(4.A.CHILD); service can be provided in over 140 languages.
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