Colin Jost calls out ‘SNL’ for Russell Brand–Chris Brown episode

Colin Jost is calling attention to a Saturday Night Live episode that aged like milk.

During the latest Weekend Update, the comedian looked to the show’s past after reporting the news of Russell Brand‘s recent legal troubles.

“Actor Russell Brand was charged in England with sexual assault,” Jost began. “Which somehow makes this video even creepier.”

He then played a clip from a February 2011 episode of SNL, which sees Brand, as the host, introduce another controversial figure as the musical guest: singer Chris Brown. The reveal earned a gasp from the crowd as the camera cut back to a grimacing Jost.

“Wow. We really know how to pair ‘em up,” he quipped. Offscreen, Jost’s Weekend Update cohost, Michael Che, broke into laughter.

Sign up for Entertainment Weekly‘s free daily newsletter to get breaking TV news, exclusive first looks, recaps, reviews, interviews with your favorite stars, and more.

Brand is back in the news after the Metropolitan Police Service announced on Friday that the actor has been charged with one count of rape, one count of indecent assault, one count of oral rape, and two counts of sexual assault for incidents that took place between the years of 1999 and 2005. He is set to appear at Westminster Magistrates’ Court on May 2. 

The charges relate to four separate women, whom Brand is accused of sexually assaulting. He swiftly denied the allegations in a YouTube reel published on Friday. 

“I’ve always told you guys when I was young and single, before I had my wife and family…. I was a fool, man. I was a fool before I lived in the light of the Lord. I was a drug addict, a sex addict, and an imbecile. But what I never was, was a rapist,” he said. “I’ve never engaged in non-consensual activity. I pray that you can see that by looking in my eyes.” 

As for Brown, he, too, has publicly courted controversy. In 2009, Brown pled guilty to felony assault by means likely to cause great bodily injury after infamously attacking his then-girlfriend Rihanna. Five years later, he was arrested in Washington, D.C. for his involvement in a hotel altercation. The singer pleaded guilty to misdemeanor assault and was sentenced to time served. Later legal woes included a nine-hour standoff with police in 2016, which saw him arrested on suspicion of assault with a deadly weapon (charges were ultimately never filed); a lawsuit from his ex-manager, who alleged a “vicious,” “unprovoked” physical attack; and a lawsuit from an unidentified woman, alleging sexual battery and assault, which was settled out of court.

Most recently, Brown was the subject of the Investigation Discovery documentary Chris Brown: A History of Violence, which premiered in October and looked back at his legal woes, including a claim from a Jane Doe who previously sued Brown for allegedly drugging and assaulting her during a 2020 yacht party hosted by now-disgraced mogul Sean “Diddy” Combs. The “Forever” singer, who denied the allegations, filed a lawsuit accusing the studio of defaming him and causing emotional distress.

Watch Jost call out the SNL episode in the full Weekend Update segment above.