This is what a wingman looks like. Colin Jost recalled the time his Saturday Night Live costar Michael Che sent a clown to crash his cozy birthday soirée with girlfriend Scarlett Johansson.
“He was having a very intimate birthday dinner, and I sent a party clown to do balloon animals and face painting,” Che, 35, explained during the pair’s Wednesday, August 15, appearance on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon.
“I had no idea [what was going on],” Jost, 36, noted. “I was at a restaurant, and a woman approached me and said, ‘Would you like me to make you a balloon animal?’ And I just thought it was sort of part of the restaurant.”
He continued: “I was like, ‘Yeah, sure, that’s fine.’ And then she’s like, ‘And would your friends like some balloon animals as well?’ And I was like, ‘Sure, yeah, that’s good.’ And she was like, ‘And what about face paint?’ And I was like, ‘Well, yeah, maybe.’”
It was Johansson, 33, who discovered the ruse. “And then next thing, my girlfriend was like, ‘Oh, that’s what Che sent.’ Realizing that that’s what he had set up,” he remembered. “Cause she thought it was gonna be a stripper.”
Che defended his prank, which he bragged about in June, saying, “In fairness to me, I just got money.”
The Daily Show alum didn’t stop there. He also gifted his Weekend Update cohost with a Christmas present that paid tribute to one of the actress’ most iconic roles. “He got me a very full, realistic Hawkeye costume from The Avengers,” Jost said.
“Because your girlfriend’s Black Widow,” Che reasoned.
Jost then asked his Emmys cohost: “Wait, do you think that they’re a couple in the movie?” Turns out, Che hasn’t seen the Avengers films, but it’s the thought that counts.
For his part, Jost gave Che an “old-timey” cash register after the latter mentioned that he liked one they saw at a bar.