NBC sent Colin Jost, known primarily for his work on Saturday Night Live, to far-away Tahiti to cover surfing at the 2024 Olympic Games. Jost has been doing his job the last couple of days, but seemingly finding more and more ways to get himself into trouble on the French Polynesian island, particularly medically.
"This job has been absolutely a total joy, there were some obstacles that I did not anticipate. For example before you came to me, I had gotten some open wounds on my foot from hitting coral reef and I actually had been walking in place in this yard because if I stand still ants begin crawling inside the wounds," he told Maria Taylor. He hardly seems upset about it, though, simply calling it, "Not something I anticipated."
"I am being set up for failure." Surfing reporter Colin Jost shares the spotlight with some wild Tahitian chickens in his second NBC Olympics live shot. #SNL #Olympics2024Paris pic.twitter.com/LzaF8OQbUj
— LateNighter (@latenightercom) July 28, 2024
Jost went on to detail more perilous situations he's found himself in, including standing in a pool of water during a reporting shoot that was home to stonefish which resulted in another person being medically evacuated from the island after they stepped on one.
Speaking to Taylor the next day, things had gotten worse.
"Do I have a joke? Yeah, I'm here." Colin Jost gives an update on his staph-infected foot in his latest live shot with NBC Olympics Late Night host Maria Taylor. #SNL #Olympics2024Paris @MariaTaylor pic.twitter.com/KorNkozVYy
— LateNighter (@latenightercom) July 30, 2024
"I've been visiting the medical tent regularly. It's a weird feeling when you're in the medical tent way more than any of the athletes," Jost expressed. "I think the medical staff at this point, they know my name, they're very familiar with my badge ID number, they know I'm allergic to penicillin."
Jost's presence has confused many, and the more he works, the more confounding his presence seems to get.
"I'm definitely not doing [this] for the money," Jost said. "I'm actively losing money being here, I guarantee it."
Taylor asked him to end his somewhat depressing update on a lighthearted note, seeing if he had a joke to share.
"Do I have a joke? Yeah, I'm here. Colin Jost is a surf correspondent. That's the joke. Or: Why did the chicken cross the road? To peck at the staph infection in my foot."
The assignment is wrapping up, with the surfing final scheduled for Tuesday but postponed, possibly to Wednesday. As for Jost?
"I vow I will not leave here unless it's being evacuated in a helicopter," Jost signed off. It's very hard to tell if he's serious or not.
This article was originally published on www.si.com as Colin Jost's Perfect Joke About Injury He Suffered Covering Olympic Surfing in Tahiti.
