Colin Jost Says Roseanne Barr Canceled “Herself,” Was “Picked Up By White Nationalists” At 2018 Emmys

Colin Jost and Michael Che called upon their Saturday Night Live castmates and slew of diverse Emmys nominees to poke sarcastic fun at Hollywood’s recent “gains” in diversity during their opening sketch at the 2018 Emmys, but their most scathing joke was snuck into their monologue. After listing the many shows that found surprise revivals after cancellation — like Fox’s Brooklyn Nine-Nine which went to NBC — Colin Jost quipped, “Roseanne was cancelled by herself and picked up by white nationalists.”
Tonight marked Jost and Che’s first time hosting the Emmys. The duo have been co-anchoring Saturday Night Live‘s Weekend Update since fall 2014. They have been co-head writers of the show since fall 2017. Even though they were the hosts, they didn’t get the honor of opening the show. Co-stars Kate McKinnon and Kenan Thompson came on stage first and announced that this year marked the most diverse group of nominees ever.

“One step closer to a black Sheldon!” Thompson declared. “I’m going to go ahead and say it: we solved it!”

What then followed was a five minute musical number poking fun about how even though this was the most diverse group of Emmy nominees yet, it wasn’t enough. Ricky Martin came out to mock that the song was “way too white,” and Andy Samberg came down from the ceiling singing, “Is there any room in this song for a straight white guy like me?”
Finally RuPaul came on stage announcing that there was a call for “Mr. Thompson,” who then was told over the line that “Oh, we did not solve it!”
Finally, Jost and Che took the stage and delivered a number of sharp barbs about the state of the industry. The vibe was very similar to their Weekend Update segments, and Jost joked up top about how it was the first year where attendees were allowed to drink in their seats. Jost said, “The one thing Hollywood needs right now is people losing their inhibitions at a work function.”

Che’s best joke of the night came at the expense of Best Drama nominee The Handmaid’s Tale. “It’s what black people call history,” he joked, before adding: “It’s Roots for white women. It’s Roots with bonnets.”