Scarlett Johansson’s Stalker Arrested After Alleged Bomb Threat Against Colin Jost’s Workplace

A man obsessed with Scarlett Johansson was arrested this week in New York City after allegedly threatening to bomb the "Saturday Night Live" studios where her husband, Colin Jost, works.

Prosecutors say Michael Joseph Branham, 48, who sports a large heart tattoo with Scarlett Johansson’s name etched across it, had become a serious threat due to what they called his “personal obsession” with the "Black Widow" actress.

Branham was taken into custody on Wednesday after sending a chilling message to his university, writing, “THE NEXT TIME YOU HERE [sic] FROM ME I WILL BE ON CNN FOR EXPLODING A BOMB IN 'SATURDAY NIGHT LIVE' AUDIENCE,” according to a criminal complaint obtained by the New York Post.

NBC Universal and 30 Rockefeller Plaza, where "SNL" is filmed, immediately reported the threat to the NYPD, police sources told The Post.

On Thursday, he was arraigned on felony charges of false reporting an incident and making a threat of mass harm. Despite arguments from his court-appointed attorney, Jamie Alexander Niskanen-Singer, that bail should be lowered, the judge set it at $100,000 cash or $300,000 bond.

In court, Niskanen-Singer claimed that Branham had been deceived by online scammers posing as Johansson, even suggesting they could have been behind the threatening message. “He has given out information. He may have been hacked, your honor,” the attorney told the judge. “It’s very possible here that there is someone that is setting him up.”

But Judge Janet McDonnell denied the bail reduction, pointing to the gravity of the threat. “He threatened to bomb 'Saturday Night Live,' which is a violent bail qualifying offense,” she said, per The Post.

McDonnell also issued protective orders for both Scarlett Johansson and Colin Jost, despite the defense arguing they were unnecessary since the couple did not directly witness the crime.

Plus, just days before arriving in New York, Branham posted about purchasing a new gun.

This isn’t Branham’s first disturbing encounter with the actress.

In November 2023, Johansson reportedly attempted to obtain a restraining order after Branham showed up at her home claiming to be the father of one of her children. He also allegedly left letters and children’s toys outside her home, including notes expressing his desire to meet Cosmo and spend time with him “as his father.”

The restraining order was ultimately denied after Johansson’s team was unable to serve Branham with the legal paperwork.

Branham, who reportedly has four outstanding warrants in Kentucky, has long broadcasted his infatuation with the "Black Widow" star on social media.

On March 30, he shared photos tagged in New York City with the caption, “Where am I?”

Just a week earlier, he had posted close-up images of his eyes, claiming he had visited the FBI’s New York office and had been told that “they have had control over my cameras in my eyes and they hear everything in my head.”

He ended the post with, “#SCARLETTINGRIDJOHANSSON I LOVE YOU HONEY!!!!”

His X account is filled with increasingly erratic posts about Johansson, including one from June 2023 stating he would be in NYC “soon” and that he and the actress “will have a great time, we just gotta get past this game.” In another message, he gushed about her appearance in business attire and thanked her for “buying me a car!!!!”

“You’re the best woman ever in my life, even before you bought me this car!” he wrote in December 2021. “I love you, beautiful!!!!”

That same day, he also wrote, “Don’t worry about anything [Johansson] I still have not cheated on you no matter what the brain interface people tell you in the air waves!!! I love you honey I’m waiting for you still in Hollywood.”

On his LinkedIn profile, Branham went so far as to claim he is “Scarlett Johansson’s Fiancée.”

Branham is scheduled to appear in court again on April 8.