‘Saturday Night Live’: Scarlett Johansson claims Sarah Sherman is ‘leaving,’ Mike Myers meets ‘Kanye,’ and more best moments
As Saturday Night Live closes out its 50th season, who better to host the finale than Scarlett Johansson? The two-time Oscar nominee (Marriage Story and JoJo Rabbit) is no stranger to Studio 8H: in addition to hosting six previous times, she's also married to Weekend Update host Colin Jost, making it easier for her to pop up for some surprise cameos here and there.
This year on the film circuit, Johansson is reuniting with Asteroid City director Wes Anderson for The Phoenician Scheme, and she's also starring in the upcoming Jurassic World: Rebirth. Here are the best moments from Johansson's latest SNL hosting gig, from the opening monologue to the best sketches.
Trump recaps his historic trip to the Middle East pic.twitter.com/q08Dd0R1n3
— Saturday Night Live - SNL (@nbcsnl) May 18, 2025
COLD OPEN
Another Saturday Night Live, another recap of the week in politics with President Donald Trump (James Austin Johnson). This week, Trump talked about his trip to the Middle East, and he was joined by Saudi Arabian Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman (Marcello Hernández) to discuss his mobile McDonalds, the new luxury jet gifted to him by Qatar, and poke fun at SNL musical guest Morgan Wallen's abrupt exit during his episode's send-off ("Get me to Allah's country"). By the end, he was breaking the fourth wall to join the audience, bidding farewell to SNL's 50th season ("Worst one yet") and wishing everyone a happy summer ("See you in the fall if we still have a country. It's a coin toss.")
Scarlett Johansson's monologue! pic.twitter.com/sQmhaWtOxh
— Saturday Night Live - SNL (@nbcsnl) May 18, 2025
OPENING MONOLOGUE
"I first hosted the show when I was 21," Johansson said as she took to the stage. "So it's crazy to be here again what, three years later?" She then launched into a musical farewell to SNL's 50th season set to Billy Joel's "Piano Man," with the show's cast joining her on-stage. She also wished good luck to cast member Sarah Sherman because she's apparently "leaving," which was news to Sherman, since she hasn't made any such announcement. "Does someone know something I don't?" she asked. (Don't worry, Sarah fans; she's not going anywhere ... we don't think.)
NEWARK AIRPORT VIDEO
The latest SNL video from comedy group Please Don’t Destroy finds the boys (Ben Marshall, John Higgins, and Martin Herlihy) being treated to a first class airplane trip on Johansson’s dime. Their celebration turns harrowing when they discover they’re flying from New York to Newark, New Jersey, whose airport has been experiencing problems as of late. The plane starts going down, and pilot Mikey Day has to make emergency contact with air traffic controller Bad Bunny, who's new to the job.
longest elevator ride ever pic.twitter.com/7zmfhSLpzo
— Saturday Night Live - SNL (@nbcsnl) May 18, 2025
MIKE MYERS/KANYE WEST SKETCH
Former SNL cast member Mike Myers has been coming back a lot as of late to play Elon Musk, and he returned this week to play... well, himself. Myers hops in an elevator with super fan Johansson, who's so excited to meet one of her heroes. As a star-struck Johansson says, you never know what celebrity you're going to meet in New York, which bears out when Kanye West (Kenan Thompson) gets on at the next stop. Johansson quickly gets off the elevator, leaving Myers alone with the controversial rapper for the first time since their infamous appearance together during a telethon for victims of Hurricane Katrina.
Season 50 Finale Joke Swap with Colin and Che! pic.twitter.com/zkV7oMyP2r
— Saturday Night Live - SNL (@nbcsnl) May 18, 2025
WEEKEND UPDATE
As is tradition for the season finale, Jost and Michael Che exchanged jokes for each other, which neither have allegedly read before airing. Since this was SNL's 50th anniversary, Jost began with a message to their boss, Lorne Michaels: "Lorne, retire bitch. Let me run this show," later going so far as to apply lipstick to make clear he would do anything for the job. Che then made an apology to Johansson, who was the subject of some tasteless jokes about her private parts Che wrote for her husband to read during SNL's 50th Anniversary Special. Che claimed he made Jost say those jokes out of jealousy because -- as Jost wrote for him -- "I've never even seen a human vagina. And notice I said human, because I once spent a summer on a farm."