Alleged Stalker’s SNL Bomb Threat Exposes Dangerous Infatuation With Actress [WATCH]

An alleged stalker of actress Scarlett Johansson was arrested in Manhattan on Wednesday after threatening to detonate a bomb during a live taping of “Saturday Night Live,” according to court documents and law enforcement sources.

Michael Joseph Branham, 48, was taken into custody after allegedly sending a threatening message referencing an attack on the SNL studio at 30 Rockefeller Plaza, where Johansson’s husband, Colin Jost, works as a writer and co-anchor of the show’s “Weekend Update” segment, as reported by The New York Post.

Scarlett Johansson’s alleged stalker arrested for threatening to bomb ‘SNL’— where hubby Colin Jost works https://t.co/aIvjz2QfsI pic.twitter.com/KOH5nY2sYS

— New York Post (@nypost) April 4, 2025

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“THE NEXT TIME YOU HERE [sic] FROM ME I WILL BE ON CNN FOR EXPLODING A BOMB IN SATURDAY NIGHT LIVE AUDIENCE.”

Branham allegedly wrote this in a message sent via a text platform affiliated with a for-profit university he attends, according to a criminal complaint.

A global security investigator with NBC Universal, which owns the 30 Rock studio, reported the incident to the Midtown North Precinct on Tuesday. Branham was arrested the following day and arraigned Thursday night in Manhattan Criminal Court.

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He faces felony charges, including false reporting of an incident and making a threat of mass harm. The court ordered him held on $100,000 cash bail or $300,000 bond. Judge Janet McDonnell also issued orders of protection for both Johansson and Jost.

At the arraignment, prosecutors described the threat as stemming from a personal obsession with Johansson.

Branham reportedly has her name tattooed on his torso along with a heart and has been linked to multiple past incidents involving the actress.

Johansson previously sought a restraining order against Branham in 2023, citing repeated harassment, including showing up at her residence in November.

However, the court dismissed the request in April 2024 after her legal team failed to serve him with the necessary documents, according to reporting from The Blast.

Branham has four outstanding warrants in Kentucky.

His public defender, Jamie Niskanen-Singer of Legal Aid, argued for lower bail, suggesting Branham may have been scammed by individuals posing as Johansson online and claiming that he may have been hacked.

“He has given out information. He may have been hacked, your honor,” Niskanen-Singer said.

Despite the defense’s arguments, Judge McDonnell declined to lower the bail, stating:

“Let’s remember why we’re here. We’re here because he threatened to bomb ‘Saturday Night Live,’ which is a violent bail-qualifying offense.”

On social media, Branham has made erratic claims about Johansson, referring to her as his fiancée and thanking her for buying him a car.

“I love you honey I’m waiting for you still in Hollywood,” he posted in late 2023.

Branham is the father of two daughters, ages 18 and 5. Johansson and Jost married in 2020 after dating for three years.

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