Pete Davidson made a surprise appearance on Saturday Night Live to share the latest updates on his life in the two years since he last appeared on the long-running variety show.
“Colin [Jost], you’re looking as great as ever,” Davidson, 31, said during the Saturday, November 8, “Weekend Update” segment, jokingly adding that Jost’s cohost, Michael Che, “was starting to crack.”
Davidson, dressed in a gray graphic T-shirt and a leather bomber jacket, took a seat at the anchor desk to address speculation that he and Jost, 43, were losing money with their Staten Island Ferry remodel. (Davidson and Jost purchased the decommissioned ship in 2022 with plans to transform it into an entertainment venue.)
“In case you’re wondering why I had to do a show in Saudi Arabia, we’re losing millions on this ferry,” Davidson said. “I assume that’s what the [New York Times] article says. I can’t spend $5 on a paywall when I got a kid on the way.”
Davidson’s girlfriend, Elsie Hewitt, announced this summer that she and the comedian are expecting their first baby.
“Hell yeah, I’m just excited to be a dad and give it all the energy and enthusiasm I never had for this show,” Davidson, who left SNL in 2022 after eight years as a cast member, said.
Jost, for his part, added that being a father is preferable compared to having a ferry. (Jost and wife Scarlett Johansson share 3-year-old son Cosmo. The actress, 40, is also mom to daughter Rose, 10, from a previous relationship.)
“What do you have to worry about? You have a great job and your uncle Robert [F. Kennedy] is the HSS secretary?” Davidson asked Jost, jokingly suggesting that his former SNL colleague is a member of the Kennedy family. “I actually understand RFK. Look, I wouldn’t be famous without my dad dying either.”
Davidson’s father, Scott, died in the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks when the actor was 7 years old.
“Thank God that happened, wouldn’t trade it,” Davidson sarcastically added on Saturday, before going back to his original message about the ferry upgrades. “We even gave the boat a new name. We thought ‘The Staten Island Ferry’ sounded too depressing, so now it’s called ‘The Titanic II.’”
As for Jost, he stressed that the pair’s ship upgrades were “going very well.”
“We got paid by Nike to put an ad on it for the New York City Marathon,” Jost stated.
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Davidson then revealed how the ferryboat purchase was actually inspired by longtime SNL showrunner Lorne Michaels.
“If Lorne Michaels taught us anything, it’s that you never ever give up,” he said. “Even if everyone says the time has come and Tina Fey is ready to take over. [And] I actually have an idea to make this ferry a success. As you know, we just had a mayoral election, which is my least favorite type of oral.”
Davidson subsequently interrupted his own bit to exclaim that it was a “classic Pete” innuendo-filled joke.
“Pete’s back, baby,” he quipped. “It’s now this, and [my SNL character] Chad.”
While Davidson left SNL in 2022, he briefly returned the next year to make his hosting debut on the show.
Saturday Night Live airs on NBC Saturdays at 11:30 p.m. EDT.
