Scarlett Johansson and Jonathan Bailey’s affection leapt off-screen again when the Jurassic World Rebirth leads greeted each other with a swift kiss at the film’s New York premiere on 23 June, echoing an earlier smooch at the London world-bow on 17 June. The playful gesture—captured on live-stream cameras—occurred with Johansson’s husband, Saturday Night Live star Colin Jost, just a few steps away and seemingly amused.
Images of the moment ricocheted across social media, igniting debate over publicity stunts, marital boundaries and the fact that Bailey, 37, is openly gay. Asked about the fuss on NBC’s Today, Johansson, 40, laughed that she and her co-star are “friendly people” and added, “I’ve got a lot of love to give.” Bailey responded in a separate Entertainment Tonight hit: “If you can’t kiss your friends… life’s too short not to.”
Commentators have been similarly split. Harper’s Bazaar columnist Joel Calfee called the outcry “a micro-scandal” fuelled by personal insecurities and noted that Jost appeared “clearly unbothered.” Cinemablend’s Caroline Young framed the kiss as a tried-and-true promotional tactic, pointing to past red-carpet displays by Glen Powell, Sydney Sweeney and Oscar Isaac.
Whether calculated or not, the attention dovetails with rising anticipation for the $250 million dinosaur epic, directed by Rogue One filmmaker Gareth Edwards and opening in U.S. cinemas on 2 July. Johansson leads as covert-ops specialist Zora Bennett opposite Bailey’s palaeontologist Dr. Henry Loomis and Mahershala Ali’s rum-swilling ship captain Duncan Kincaid in a plot set five years after Dominion. Universal has promised a scarier tone, with Johansson telling Total Film that practical effects “will make the franchise scary again.”
The media tour has already spanned a dinosaur-themed photocall in London and an E! livestream outside New York’s Lincoln Center, with Los Angeles stops to follow. As for the viral pecks, Johansson shrugged to reporters, “He’s a lovable guy, what can I say?” before walking arm-in-arm with Jost into the screening.
