SNL: Weekend Update Fans Annoyed That Annual Joke Swap Didn’t Happen on Christmas Episode

Last night saw Elivs star Austin Butler hosting the final Saturday Night Live of 2022 alongside musical guest Lizzo. It was a big episode that featured some fun sketches as well as a heartfelt goodbye to longtime cast member, Cecily Strong. However, there was one thing that didn’t happen in the episode that has some fans upset. A longstanding tradition on “Weekend Update” is the joke swap between Colin Jost and Michael Che. The two write jokes for the other and then read them for the first time on air. Many SNL fans took to Twitter last night to express their disappointment that the bit didn’t happen. 

“I watched #SNL just for the annual joke swap on Weekend Update, and they didn’t do it!” @LanceRoz25 tweeted. “No joke swap on weekend update. I’m not letting this slide,” @Harrydude8365 wrote. “Massive disappointment,” @OhThePain81 added. “Bummer was hoping to see thejoke swap on the holiday weekend update. It’s the best of the best,” @JimDanner9 shared. 

Who Did Lizzo Replace On SNL?

Last night’s SNL episode featured Lizzo’s third time as the musical guest, but she wasn’t originally scheduled to join Butler. When the episode was announced, the Yeah Yeah Yeahs were scheduled to perform, but Lizzo replaced the indie rockers after one of the musicians was hospitalized with pneumonia.

“As many of our fans know Nick has had pneumonia over the past month and it’s been an up and down recovery process,” the band wrote in a statement on social media. “The band’s top priority is supporting Nick through a full recovery, as a result we had to pull out from our engagements of KROQ’s Acoustic Christmas and Saturday Night Live. YYYs have enjoyed the incredible highs of being supported on KROQ and the huge honor of being chosen to close out SNL’s 2022, we are deeply thankful and expectedly heartbroken we cannot rise to these occasions. It’s been a rough week, and it’s been a tough year on the health front for us alongside so many artists who are committed to connecting with audiences amidst a pandemic. We send our love to our fans and supporters, thank you for your understanding and well wishes, it means the world to us. Wishing you a healthy and happy rest of 2022, we’re looking forward to a strong return in 2023.”

How To Watch Saturday Night Live: 

Throughout the remainder of Season 48, which will likely conclude in May, NBC is simulcasting new episodes live on both NBC and Peacock. Peacock also serves as the streaming vault for all SNL episodes since the show began in 1975, with new episodes being added to the site the day after they air.

Aside from a few exceptions, nearly every SNL episode is now available to watch on Peacock.