Photo: EW
Pete Davidson’s last confessional on Saturday Night Live was an emotional wrap-up for the season 47 finale.
The comic, who jumped into the SNL line-up during season 40 as one of the youngest cast members at age 20, was primarily known for breaking his sketches in his early years. However, during his stint, he has caught fans’ love with his often unguarded self-deprecating visits to the show’s news desks, unfolding topics from his mental health issues to laughing about headline-reaching relationships and splits.
The 28-year-old comedian is among the cast’s most widely known stars, attributed to his relationship with ex-fiancee Ariana Grande and now girlfriend, Kim Kardashian. He met these two during guest appearances on the NBC show.
“I never imagined this would be my life,” revealed Davidson during his last episode as a cast member, sitting beside a photo of himself during his Weekend Update cameo on his first-ever episode in September 2014.
“Back then, I was just a skinny kid, and no one knew what race I was. Now everyone knows I’m white because I became hugely successful while barely showing up to work,” he said, joking about his absences one the last few seasons.
The things that have changed throughout Davidson’s time on the show are something he never expected.
“In three years, Fox News went from calling me a monster for making fun of Congressman Dan Crenshaw’s eye patch to also making fun of Dan Crenshaw’s eye patch,” he jested, referring to Tucker Carlson’s mockery of the controversial Republican lawmaker who Davidson was once coerced to seek apology to in-person after saying a dumb jab on an Update episode.
After being asked by Colin Jost if he would be missing anything following his departure from SNL, Davidson mentioned show boss Lorne Michaels.
“He’s amazing. He’s led us through the COVID era even though the only time he wears a mask is at his Eyes Wide Shut parties,” he said laughing, proceeding to divulge a few of Michaels’ advice throughout the years that he so valued.
“Really, this is all true advice that Lorne’s given me. I’ll never forget this, I called him when I got engaged, ‘Lorne, I just got engaged to Arian Grande after dating for two weeks,’ and he said, ‘Oh, hold on for dear life.'”
“When I auditioned for SNL, he said, ‘I don’t think you’re right for the show, so let’s screw this up together,’ and that’s exactly what we did,” Davidson revealed.
“That’s why people who don’t think I deserve this job shouldn’t hate me since we have so much in common. If anything, I should inspire hope that literally anyone could be on Saturday Night Live. Seriously, you see a guy bumming cigarettes outside a 7-Eleven at 2 am; that’s not some meth-head; that’s the next Pete Davidson.”
Davidson became visibly sentimental as he stated his genuine appreciation for his moments on the show.
“I appreciate SNL always having my back and allowing me to work on myself and grow. Thank you to Lorne for never giving up on me or judging me even when everyone else was, and believing in me and allowing me to have a place that I can call home with memories that will last a lifetime. So thank you, guys.”
