For the last time on Saturday evening, Pete Davidson stopped by the “Weekend Update” office to say goodbye and how unlikely it was that he had become one of the SNL’the most famous cast members.
“Hello, Colin and Che and millions of people just watching to see if I’m bringing up Kanye,” Davidson began, referencing his very public feud with girlfriend Kim Kardashian’s ex.
“I never imagined this would be my life,” he said, describing the 20-year-old who joined the show in 2014 as “a skinny kid and nobody knew what race I was. ‘was’. He then joked, “Now everyone knows I’m white because I’ve been hugely successful while barely showing up for work.”
Noting how much has changed over his seven seasons in the cast, Davidson said, “In three years, Fox News has gone from calling me a freak to poke fun at Congressman Dan Crenshaw’s eye patch to also make fun of his eye patch.”
“Tucker Carlson called it ‘McCain eye patch,'” he explained. “That’s two veterans in one insult!” Shit, Colin, your father is an asshole.
“To be fair with what I said, because it always bothers me, I was just making a joke about someone’s appearance without realizing that the underlying health condition was a sensitive issue, which is a SNL tradition of the oldies,” as the photo of Will Smith slapping Chris Rock at the Oscars appeared behind him and drew groans from the crowd. “On the one hand, I don’t like people thinking they can just get on stage and punch a comedian. But on the other hand, that’s how I know all my shows will now be sold out. .
Davidson explained that during his first audition for SNLproducer Lorne Michaels told him, “I don’t think you’re good for this show, so let’s screw this together.”
“And that’s exactly what we did,” Davidson said. “And that’s why people who think I don’t deserve the job shouldn’t hate me, since we have so much in common. If anything, I should inspire hope that literally anyone can be on Saturday Night Live. Seriously, you see a guy smoking cigarettes outside a 7-Eleven at 2 a.m., that’s not a meth head, ‘That’s the next Pete Davidson!’
He became visibly emotional as he closed things by thanking SNL to “always have my back and allow me to work on myself and grow.”
“And thank you Lorne for never giving up on me and never judging me, even when everyone else was,” Davidson continued. “And for believing in me and allowing me to have a place I could call home with memories that can last a lifetime.”
For more, listen and subscribe to The Last Laugh podcast.