Scarlett Johansson’s alleged stalker has been arrested after reportedly threatening to bomb the studio of Saturday Night Live, the popular television show where her husband, Colin Jost, works as a staff writer and co-host of the Weekend Update segment, according to the court filings and law enforcement officials.
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Scarlett Johansson’s alleged stalker arrested
Johansson’s alleged stalker identified as Michael Joseph Branham is a 48-year-old man who has the word “Scarlett” tattooed with a heart around it on his torso. On Wednesday, he was arrested in Manhattan for allegedly sending out the threat text messages. According to the criminal complaint, the message sent read, “THE NEXT TIME YOU HERE [sic] FROM ME I WILL BE ON CNN FOR EXPLODING A BOMB IN SATURDAY NIGHT LIVE AUDIENCE.”
The police sources reported that a global security investigator for NBC Universal and 30 Rock reported the threatening messages to the Midtown North Precinct on Tuesday. Branham, who has four outstanding warrants in Kentucky, was arrested in New York City for making the bomb threat, which prosecutors claim stemmed from a personal obsession with Johansson. He appeared in Manhattan criminal court on Thursday, facing felony charges, including false reporting and making a threat of mass harm. The court set his bail at $100,000 cash or $300,000 bond.
The allegedly delusional fan, a father of two daughters aged 18 and 5, had an erratic presence on X, where he claimed that Johansson was his “fiancée,” expressed his love for her, and even thanked her for supposedly buying him “a car.” In November 2023, he wrote, “Don’t worry about anything #SCARLETTINGRIDJOHANSSON 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.”
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Branham’s lawyer asks for lowered bail
The public defender for Braham, Jamie Niskanen-Singer of Legal Aid requested for a lowered bail as he stated that the alleged stalked had previously fallen victim to scams where people posed as The Avenger actor and the threatening text could be the same scammer’s doing, as reported by the New York Post.
According to The New York Post, the lawyer argued, “He has given out information. He may have been hacked, your honour. It’s very possible here that there is someone that is setting him up.” Moreover, he also asked the judge to take into consideration that his client has no history of weapon use.
However, Judge Janet McDonnell was not convinced. She said, “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.” At his arraignment hearing, McDonnell granted orders of protection to both Johansson and Jost, despite objections from the defendant’s lawyer.
Jamie argued that the protection is not necessary, as he said, “Scarlett Johansson is not a victim or a witness to this crime. She did not see it, she did not hear it, she did not report it,” as reported by The New York Post.
Johansson attempted to obtain a restraining order against Branham last year, who allegedly claimed to have fathered one of her children and made other bizarre assertions about her on social media. The 40-year-old actress stated that Branham had been harassing her for over a year, even showing up at her home in November 2023. However, her request for protection was dismissed by a California court in April 2024 due to her lawyer’s failure to serve him with the necessary court papers, as reported by The Blast.