Pete Davidson Thinks It’s Time To Leave ‘Saturday Night Live’: “They Make Fun Of Me”

Greg Evans
·3-min read

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Acknowledging that interviews aren’t his strong suit — especially print interviews that make it look like he “just says monstrous things” — Saturday Night Live‘s Pete Davidson nonetheless let loose Monday in a chat with Charlamagne Tha God, revealing that his time with SNL might be nearing an end.

“I personally think I should be done with that show because they make fun of me on it,” said Davidson, explaining that on-air jokes about his personal life can make his job difficult.

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Watch the interview below.

Audiences “think I’m f*cking dumb,” Davidson said about the effect of “Weekend Update” and cold-open jokes at his expense. He doesn’t complain to castmates, he said, “because then I’m a hypocrite.”

Prodded by Charlamagne, Davidson conceded, “I feel like, yeah, I’ve done as much as I can over there,” adding that, with his specialty not being sketch comedy, he doesn’t want to be “the guy giggling in the background” — and mentioned Jimmy Fallon as an example.

In the candid interview on Charlamagne Tha God’s social media show, Davidson praised Lorne Michaels: “He’s the best and has treated me with nothing but love. He’s like a father figure to me.” The comedian said he’s happy to stay with the show “as long as Lorne likes me.”

But, he continued, “as far as everyone else, it’s a cutthroat f*cking show. Everyone’s trying to get their shit on. Everyone wants to be the next thing.”

Davidson says he consulted with Adam Sandler and others about when he should step away. “You don’t ever want to pull the trigger too early,” he said. “Everybody’s always been like, ‘You’ll know when you know, and it’ll be all right.'”

Davidson, with a Netflix special Alive from New York now on Netflix and a role on the upcoming series The Rookies announced, opened up about other topics during the interview, including his feelings about Louis C.K. (“He’s just not a nice guy”) and the mental health issues (bipolar, PTSD from a childhood that saw his firefighter dad killed on 9/11), drug use and history of cutting himself on the chest.

“As you’re doing it, it feels really great,” Davidson said about the cutting that’s left his chest scarred and that has served as a sign that he needed to seek help. Rehab, he said, taught him valuable techniques to withstand the impulse to cut, including cold showers, calling friends or simply “waiting five minutes.”

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