SNL

Don't count Jeff Ross among the people -- Jewish or otherwise -- outraged over Michael Che's joke about Israel on last week's 'SNL' ... he thinks Che should keep it up.

We got the "Roastmaster General" out in Bev Hills and asked for his take on the joke ... which many decried as anti-Semitic, but Jeff had another word for it -- "hilarious."

The comedian says people need to have thicker skin and just enjoy comedy ... which he describes as "essential business" after nearly a year of COVID lockdowns.

As for those who were offended by Che's joke, Jeff says Israel jokes aren't off-limits ... neither are jokes about our camera guy.

Ross also weighed in on the recent Mr. Potato Head news, and in classic Roastmaster fashion ... he used it to poke fun at a late comedy legend.

"Saturday Night Live's" Michael Che is getting dragged for what some are calling an anti-Semitic joke.

Che was at the anchor desk for "Weekend Update" Saturday night, when he quipped that half the folks in Israel have already gotten the COVID vaccine, adding, "I'm going to guess it's the Jewish half."

True enough ... Israel's faced criticism for not yet inoculating around 100,000 Palestinians who work in Israel. That said, Che did not say the Israeli half was vaccinated ... he said the Jewish half. By saying that, he made it about religion, not the government.

Fact is ... Israel is inoculating Jews, Arabs and Christians. They were slow on the uptake with Palestinians, but they're correcting that.

Twitter went crazy after Che dropped the joke, calling him out, but he has yet to address it.

The folks at "Saturday Night Live" clearly had a hard time figuring out what to lead with, so they decided to lead with everybody!!!

The opening skit was pretty hilarious ... talk show host "Britney Spears" interviews "Ted Cruz," "Gov. Andrew Cuomo" and "Gina Carano" ... all of whom were brought on the show to apologize for their misdeeds.

"Ted" is back from his cut-short vacay, clutching a fruity drink in one hand and his rollaway suitcase in the other.

What's really funny ... how "Cuomo" and "Carano" -- who have their own issues -- want nothing to do with Cruz.

The dancing interludes in between guests are pretty hilarious, as are the subtle signs Britney flashes regarding her own circumstances.

'SNL' has a new sketch about how sexy Zillow listings really are -- but now ... they're being accused of ripping off the joke from a comedian.

Ted Alexandro has been railing on the writers from "Saturday Night Live" all day Sunday, claiming their now-viral skit -- which was all the rage Saturday -- is actually his own material ... which he performed live at the Comedy Cellar in none other than New York City.

He writes, "Dear @SNL, since you stole my Zillow joke last night please Venmo me the sum of 1 million dollars. My full special Cut/Up is on youtube if you need more ideas." Ted added a mash-up of his original joke and the 'SNL' parody, which have familiar themes and beats.

The gist of the gag is that the older you get, the more certain aspects of adulthood start to appeal to you -- maybe even in a sexual sense. 'SNL' played up the whole "yeah sex is great" angle ... and turned Zillow browsing into a softcore fantasy porn ad of sorts.

Ted's original performance of the Zillow phenomenon ain't all that different -- but he makes it more about how he and his wife "sext" each other ... sending each other Zillow listings that are out of their price range to make one another hot and bothered. They're both funny ... but Ted's insisting he did it first, and seems to want either money and/or credit.

It's unclear when Ted first performed his Zillow joke, but it appeared in a compilation video he released with a bunch of his stand-up shows called "Ted Alexandro: CUT/UP" ... which got posted on YouTube in September. Looks like it might have surfaced well before that though.

Dan Levy’s mom got sweet revenge against the boys who bullied her son at summer camp ... with a little help from Lorne Michaels.

Deborah Devine celebrated her son's latest honor -- hosting 'SNL' -- with a pre-show tweet ... "This goes out to the bully punks at Camp WTF who made life miserable for a certain cabin-mate back in the summer of '96 -- just because he was different."

And then, Deb lowers the boom ... "Well, after all these years I have just 7 words to say to you: 'Live from New York, it's Saturday Night!'" BOOM!!!

Dan, who's gay both in real life and on his uber-award-winning show "Schitt's Creek," hosted 'SNL' for the first time.

He opened with this ... "I'm so honored to be hosting 'Saturday Night Live.' Somewhere my 13-year-old self has fainted in a really melodramatic way."

Dan's dad, Eugene, was actually the first Levy to appear on 'SNL' alongside John Candy way back in 1985.

Kevin Nealon's a victim in a home burglary that saw crooks get away clean with six figures worth of jewelry and other valuables.

The thieves broke into the "Weeds" and 'SNL' alum's place recently ... according to law enforcement sources, who tell us it looks like Kevin had been away for a few days.

We're told Kevin came home to discover the break-in, and that more than $100,000 worth of bling and handbags were gone.

Our sources say it doesn't appear the burglars specifically targeted Kevin ... and this was more likely a random hit. Cops still don't know exactly how the perpetrators managed to get inside the house.

Pete Davidson making fun of a bar in his hometown and its stance against COVID restrictions is pissing off a lot of the locals, and they're blasting him for it.

A Staten Island activist named Mr. Tobacco tore the 'SNL' star a new one Monday during a news conference over the watering hole called Mac's Public House -- which has been in the news a lot lately for defying COVID closures.

ICYMI ... one of Mac's co-owners, Danny Presti, was arrested AGAIN this weekend after he allegedly let people inside (against a closure order). Tobacco and co. were addressing that when he referred to Pete's 'Weekend Update' appearance, where he criticized the Staten Island community and Mac's owners for acting like babies.

Welp, Mr. Tobacco says Pete's words are a betrayal, considering people in town know him and his fam. He got very personal and even referenced Pete's father ... a firefighter who died on 9/11 in the Twin Towers.

You'll have to watch the video to see how he frames it ... but it's pretty clear that Tobacco and some of the other Mac members were hurt by Pete, who Tobacco calls someone with a huge platform putting the little guy down.

This is kinda cool ... 'SNL' did its own PSA about COVID, and it's funny and at the same time instructive ... thanks to country star Morgan Wallen and Jason Bateman.

As we reported, Morgan was yanked from the show in October because he violated COVID restrictions by partying in a bar at the University of Alabama.

Well, Lorne Michaels gave Morgan a second chance, but not without strings attached.  Morgan was the star and subject of a parody at a bar. He was tempted to party for sure, until the Morgan of the future -- AKA Jason Bateman -- comes along to warn him there are consequences.

"I am you from the future and I came here to stop you from partying tonight," Bateman said in the sketch. "Trust me somebody's gonna post a video of you ignoring COVID protocols, the whole internet's gonna freak out ... Once people hear about the party, you're in big trouble, man, you're gonna get kicked off 'Saturday Night Live.'"

Temptation prevails and both guys are down for a little partying. You gotta see how it unfolds, especially when Pete Davidson surfaces.

Morgan Wallen has a plan to make sure he's not booted from his second crack at 'SNL' ... but his strategy already has some gaping holes of his own doing.

We got the country music star in New York City Friday and our photog asked him how he's planning to stay COVID safe ahead of his big 'SNL' performance.

Morgan tells us he "ain't leaving the damn hotel" ... as he's literally walking out of said hotel.

As you know ... Morgan is getting a second chance at 'SNL' 2 months after the show axed him from an earlier, planned gig. He got the boot after he was seen taking shots in a crowded bar and kissing women during some maskless partying down in Alabama. Y'know, stuff that's NOT COVID safe.

Morgan's thanking the Lord for another shot -- at 'SNL,' not the bar -- and says he'll do things differently this time. As for leaving the hotel, maybe he's going to 30 Rock for rehearsals.

Good on Morgan for wearing a face-covering as he climbs into a waiting SUV with his masked-up team.

The show should be pretty funny, with host Jason Bateman already in fine form.

John Mulaney's "Saturday Night Live" joke about how Julius Caesar was killed drew the ire of some Donald Trump supporters, but even crazier ... he says it made him the target of a Secret Service investigation.

The comedian's 'SNL' monologue from February included the fact Caesar started leap year to correct the calendar, but then he joked the Roman general was such a "powerful maniac" that a bunch of senators stabbed him to death.

Mulaney then added ... it would be interesting if we brought that back now.

Though he made no mention of Trump, the joke was enough for right-wing sites to call him out for allegedly insinuating a violent act should be done to POTUS ... and Mulaney says the Secret Service contacted him about it.

Mulaney says the agent who questioned him was respectful and quickly determined his joke was harmless and he was not a threat ... but nevertheless, the comedian says he now has an official Secret Service file opened on him.

Country music star Morgan Wallen will be grateful for second chances this Thanksgiving -- he'll be the musical guest on "Saturday Night Live," 2 months after the show axed him.

'SNL' announced it Wednesday, saying Morgan will perform on the December 5 show ... with Jason Bateman hosting. Moments after the news ... Morgan was keeping things pretty humble, and simply tweeted, "Let's try this again."

Remember ... Morgan was scheduled to be the musical guest back in October, but got booted from the gig after he was seen at a bar in Tuscaloosa, Alabama taking shots, kissing women and generally partying without a face mask or social distancing.

Morgan ultimately apologized for his irresponsible behavior and admitted his actions were "short-sighted." He had also said 'SNL' honcho Lorne Michaels was kind and encouraging and told him they could possibly have him on in the future. The future is next weekend.

The good news for Morgan comes a little over 2 weeks after he openly complained about not being able to do live shows, and called Joe Biden supporters hypocritical for packing streets to celebrate his victory amid the pandemic. He clearly felt there was a double standard.

'SNL' was hilarious Saturday night, as Jim Carrey (Biden), Maya Rudolph (Harris) and Alec Baldwin (Trump) mimicked the candidates, but the most puzzling part ... how did the show find the real-life wardrobe so damn fast!!!

The open began with an exhausted Wolf Blitzer throwing to a mangled John King ... both of whom clearly got very little sleep for the week following election day.

Carrey was hysterical ... saying the wait was like having sex with Sting -- but, as he said, what a release!!!

Maya Rudolph has nailed Kamala Harris' speech patterns, but how on earth did 'SNL' find a replica of the Veep-elect in a New York minute?

And, of course, Alec Baldwin nailed Trump. You gotta see his version of "Macho Man." Wow, the Village People were the winners in this race.

Scarlett Johansson and Colin Jost's wedding announcement on the Meals on Wheels Instagram account paid big time ... for the org, which saw an influx of donations.

A rep for the meal delivery program tells TMZ ... the org saw approximately $10k in donations in the 24 hours after the Meals on Wheels IG account broke the happy news earlier this week. The rep says the online donations came directly from the link it posted on its IG profile.

The org's social media team also had reason to celebrate -- the Scarlett and Colin post had nearly 10 times more "likes" than their previous top post. If nothing else, the Scarlett and Colin news brought people to the MoW page that otherwise might not have ever visited, which, TBH, is unfortunate because the folks over there do a tremendous job feeding the needy.

It's easy to see why Scarlett and Colin chose to let Meals on Wheels break the story ... they've been longtime supporters of the org. The rep tells us the couple had been looking for creative ways to address senior hunger and isolation, especially as the pandemic is disproportionately impacting the population it serves.

The rep added, "We are grateful that they chose to share their wedding spotlight with vulnerable older adults across the country, illuminating their critical needs and what Meals on Wheels is doing to ensure no senior is forgotten."

Duly noted!!!

Scarlett Johansson and Colin Jost are now a married couple ... TMZ has learned.

Sources close to the couple tell TMZ ... Scarlett and Colin tied the knot over the weekend in Palisades, NY. She's familiar with the area ... Scarlett bought an iconic 4-bedroom crib there for $4 million back in 2018.

The couple made the announcement through Meals on Wheels America ... the org said the wedding was held with close family members and loved ones and that all CDC guidelines were followed.

As we've reported ... the actress and 'SNL' vet got engaged back in May 2019 after 2 years of dating. ScarJo and Colin have been going strong since spring 2017 ... right after she made a guest appearance on the season finale of 'SNL.'

Fun fact about the house ScarJo bought ... it was designed by the same man commissioned by President Franklin D. Roosevelt to redesign the West Wing of the White House, including the Oval Office, back in the 1930s.

This is Scarlett's third marriage. She was previously married to Ryan Reynolds from 2008 to 2011 before tying the knot with journalist Romain Dauriac. They share a child together. This is Colin's first time going down the aisle.

Adele was awesome on 'SNL' Saturday night, and made a hilarious joke about her weight loss.

The '"Someone Like You" singer looked INCREDIBLE as she took the stage to host the show. She acknowledged, "I know I look really, really different since you last saw me." THAT is an understatement.

But, then she jokingly explained ... "But actually, because of all the Covid restrictions ... I had to travel light and I could only bring half of me," she joked. "And this is the half I chose."

Adele explained she wasn't a musical guest this time around because she hasn't finished her latest album so there's nothing new to sing about. Besides, she said she was too scared to sing and host on the same show.

Thing is ... she did sing later in the show, during a 'Bachelor' skit.

It's been a long 5 years since Adele dropped an album. And, she's been absent from TV ... last appearing on the 2017 Grammys.

This isn't Adele's first go-round on 'SNL.' She performed in 2008 ... during the show where Sarah Palin appeared with Tina Fey during the election.

"SNL" mocked the dueling Presidential debates, and it was pretty funny.

Jim Carrey played Joe Biden, who showed his numerical age with some dad/granddad references to pop culture and a penchant for reminiscing WAAY back.

The cold open ping-ponged from Biden to Trump, who of course was hilariously played by Alec Baldwin.

Kate McKinnon, who played Trump moderator Savannah Guthrie, challenged Trump for tweeting about white supremacy and such. His response, "I didn't tweet it. It was a retweet, which is short for a really smart tweet."

And then McKinnon reprised Guthrie's line about Trump's tweets -- "You're not just someone's crazy uncle," to which Trump [Baldwin] responds, "Really? Because this conversation we're having right now is a preview of Thanksgiving dinner," Baldwin's Trump shot back. "So crazy uncles, stand back and stand by."