Michael Che said during a recent interview on the “Fly on the Wall” podcast (via The Daily Beast) that one “Weekend Update” joke involving salsa nearly led him to quit the show. Asked by podcast hosts and “SNL” alums Dana Carvey and David Spade if any punchline continues not to sit well with him, Che answered: “I think jalapeño business… I was pretty furious about that one.”
“You were just upset that it worked so well,” added Jost, who appeared with Che during the “Fly on the Wall” interview.
The punchline in question revolved around a joke Jost told in relation to a 2015 incident in which a woman attacked her boyfriend with a pan several times because he ate a tub of salsa they were supposed to share. The woman was sentenced to 18 months in prison over the attack.
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“I remember in run-through when you did it, because I never heard it before,” Che explained. “I don’t remember what the setup was, but the punchline was ‘jalapeño business.’”
During the live episode, Jost recapped the crime and delivered the punchline: “You’d be angry too if your boyfriend was jalapeño business.” The joke was that Jost was playing on the common saying “all up in your business.” Che was not a fan.
“I was like, ‘If you tell that joke on air, I’m leaving. I’m quitting the show,’” Che recalled. “And he did it on air and it destroyed. And I was so frustrated. I was so frustrated. I was like, ‘I don’t even know what we do anymore.’”
The joke was a hit, which dumbfounded Che. Despite being frustrated, Che stayed with “Saturday Night Live” and is set to once again anchor the “Weekend Update” segment alongside Jost when “SNL” returns for its 50th anniversary season this fall. Listen to the duo’s full appearance on the “Fly on the Wall” podcast here.
