Scarlett Johansson's husband, Colin Jost, will no longer be the US surfing correspondent at the Olympic Games after he was replaced by Aussie weatherman Luke Bradnam.
Saturday Night Live star Jost was all set to spearhead NBC's coverage of Olympic surfing and had even set up camp in Tahiti. However, he was then promptly called back to the United States, following a two-day break in the competition as waves declined.
Jost, 42, is well known to American audiences for his stint on SNL, as well as appearing in various TV shows and films, but his left-field replacement at the games can't claim to boast such a starry CV. Upon needing a last-minute stand-in for Jost, the American network surprisingly enlisted Gold Coast weatherman Bradnam to take over hosting duties.
Despite Jost having a stacked crew of cameramen and production staff to produce his reports from Tahiti, Bradnam, who is usually seen on Australia's Channel Nine, will now beam surfing at the games out to millions with just his trusty cameraman, Jack Marriott. And in classic Aussie fashion, Bradnam did not shirk the call and jumped at the chance, claiming: “I don’t muck around mate.”
Alongside Marriott, the pair will now cover the rest of the Olympic surfing for the famed network with the glamorous location delivering the finals - with medals expected to be awarded on Sunday. Speaking from Teahupo’o, Bradnam revealed his shock to the Sydney Morning Herald at being called on to replace Jost and lead the broadcast for the Americans.
The popular weatherman, although clearly ecstatic at the opportunity, did have some reservations about his status amongst Stateside viewers and also expressed doubt that his accent would even translate to US fans.
“I got a phone call as the surfing came back on line, it was literally just, ‘Colin’s not able to work it, could you please fill in for us?’ ’What the f---? Sure," he said. "Now I’m doing these crosses, they’ve got no idea who I am. I’ve done three crosses already today and I’ve covered the Americans today."
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He added: "I am taking that side of the job seriously, of course. And then there’s a part of me going, ‘Jesus, can these Americans even understand me?’" While Jost, who has been married to Hollywood star Johansson since 2020, injected his comedic qualities into his reports, with the actor even jumping on a surfboard himself, humble Bradnam enjoyed one of the biggest days in competitive surfing history, when on Wednesday he covered Australian stars Jack Robinson and Ethan Ewing on the waves.
The Aussie reporter also revealed that he had initial reservations about Jost, insisting the star had "enough in life", but eventually softened in his stance as he got to know the American better. “I didn’t want to like the guy,” Bradnam said.
“He’s way too good-looking, he’s funny, and he’s married to Scarlett Johansson. He’s got enough in life. But I spent two days on the boats with him, I just couldn’t help it, he was just a great bloke."
He later added that he didn't know of Jost's whereabouts but was now pinning his hopes on rubbing shoulders with the bigwigs at NBC, adding: “No idea where he’s gone, all I know is I’m now doing his crosses... If I don’t get an invite to the NBC Christmas party after this, it won’t be pretty.”
It's still unclear why Jost was pulled from his reporting gig at the Olympics as NBC's surfing correspondent. However, the news comes hours after it was confirmed that he is going to be the host of a new US game show.
Discovery+ is the new home of the Olympics. The streamer is set to broadcast 3,800 hours of sport live from Paris.
Sports fans can get Discovery+ for £3.99 a month until the end of 2024 via Amazon Prime's video channels. This also comes with an Amazon Prime 30-day free trial.