Saturday Night Live star Colin Jost has been selected as the featured entertainer at the annual dinner of the White House Correspondents’ Association this year.

Jost, the co-host of SNL’s ‘Weekend Update’ and husband of actress Scarlett Johansson, will get a chance to roast leading political and media figures at the event in April.

‘His smart brand of comedy and keen observation will turn up the heat on the national news media and across the political spectrum,’ said Kelly O´Donnell, president of the White House Correspondents’ Association.

‘His sharp insights perfectly meet this remarkable time of divided politics, and a presidential campaign careening toward a rematch,’ said O’Donnell, who is also Senior White House Correspondent for NBC News.

Jost, the co-host of SNL’s ‘Weekend Update’ and husband of actress Scarlett Johansson, will host the annual dinner of the White House Correspondents Association this year

A writer and comedic performer, Jost has written for the long-running NBC late night comedy franchise since 2005.

Jost began co-anchoring the show’s ‘Weekend Update’ news parody in 2014 with co-anchor Michael Che. His film credits include ‘Coming 2 America’ and ‘Tom & Jerry.’

He is also the author of the memoir ‘A Very Punchable Face.’

Jost, 41, grew up in the New York City borough of Staten Island and graduated from Harvard University, where he was dormmates with now Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg.

The US president and first lady traditionally attend the WHCA dinner, as do senior government officials and members of the press corps with the proceeds from the night helping to fund scholarships for journalism students.

Since the annual dinner began in 1921, every president has attended at least once, with the exception of Donald Trump.

Jost began co-anchoring SNL’s ‘Weekend Update’ news parody in 2014 with co-anchor Michael Che. His film credits include ‘Coming 2 America’ and ‘Tom & Jerry.’

In 2018, featured entertainer Michelle Wolf raised eyebrows with a withering monologue trashing the Trump administration.

The roast was so risqué that C-SPAN radio cut the feed midway through, fearing it might violate FCC indecency guidelines.

Amid backlash from some members, the association pivoted away from comedy and invited historian Ron Chernow as the featured speaker in 2019.

After a two-year pandemic hiatus, the roast format returned in 2022, with Trevor Noah, the former Daily Show host, as the featured entertainer.

Last year, stand-up comedian and Daily Show correspondent Roy Wood Jr. hosted the dinner.

Source:https://www.dailymail.co.uk