Colin Jost. Sean M. Haffey/Getty Images
Colin Jost’s time in Tahiti for the 2024 Olympics has come to an end.
Deadline reported on Monday, August 5, that Jost, 42, exited the gig after a series of unfortunate injuries. NBC has replaced the comedian with Australian weatherman Luke Bradnam. No reason has been given for Jost’s departure.
Us Weekly has reached out to NBC for comment.
Bradnam was already in Tahiti covering the games for Australia’s Channel Nine. The broadcaster met Jost a few times before he left but Bradnam didn’t know who the Saturday Night Live star was.
Colin Jost‘s experience covering Olympic surfing in Tahiti might not be worthy of a gold medal. Jost, 42, was tapped to be a correspondent for the 2024 Paris Olympics, reporting live from Tahiti during the surfing competitions. It didn’t take long for things to go south after the Games officially kicked off on July 26. […]
“And then I said to one of the officials ‘Who’s that?,’ and she goes, ‘You know who he is,’” Bradnam recalled to Reuters on Sunday, August 4. “And I go, ‘I don’t know.’ She goes, ‘He’s married to Scarlett Johansson. He’s from Saturday Night Live.’”
On Monday, Jost shared a clip shared via Instagram of a segment he filmed in Tahiti ahead of the 2024 Olympic surfing semifinals and finals. (The events were previously delayed due to small surf conditions.)
“Rumors of my death have been greatly exaggerated,” Jost captioned the video. “Semis and finals of Olympic surfing happening right now in Tahiti. At the Wall of Skulls.”
Since touching down in French Polynesia in July, things have not gone according to plan for Jost. While speaking to NBC Sports broadcaster Maria Taylor last month, Jost gave a candid update on how his assignment was going so far.
“I apologize that we were a little delayed getting to you. You’re not gonna believe it based on this yard full of chickens, but we had some technical difficulties,” he said while gesturing to the birds behind him.
In addition to the unique working conditions, Jost also shared that he injured his foot while in the water.
“For example, before you came to me, I had gotten some open wounds on my foot from hitting the coral reef,” he explained during the broadcast. “I actually have been walking in place in this yard because if I stand still, ants begin crawling inside the wounds. Not something I anticipated.”
Several stars have chosen to come out to support the stellar athletes competing at the 2024 Paris Olympics. Kelly Clarkson covered the opening ceremony for NBC along with Mike Tirico and Peyton Manning on July 26, which included performances from stars such as Lady Gaga and Céline Dion. During Dion’s powerful performance, which marked her […]
Jost later gave an update that he had become very familiar with the medical staff on-site since his toe was not healing properly.
“They started saying, ‘We need to see you every day.’ At first, I was like, ‘Oh, my God, guys, I like you too,’” Jost recalled on-air. “And they were like, ‘No, it’s because the infection hasn’t improved.’”
Alongside his toe injury, Jost also managed to get an ear infection.
“I woke up this morning and discovered that I had added ear infection to my growing list of ailments,” he said in a July broadcast. “So I’m now on three different medications — four if you count piña coladas.”