Last week, Pete Davidson courted controversy on S.N.L. once again by cracking a joke about Republican congressman-elect Dan Crenshaws eyepatch, comparing Crenshaw to “a hit man in a porno movie.” This season Davidson has appeared an unprecedented four times as himself during a “Weekend Update” guest slot. This week, he delivered a self-deprecating apology for his choice of words in a segment went from somewhat funny to over-the-top when Crenshaw himself made an appearance and Davidsons ex-fiancée Ariana Grande was once again dragged into the mix.
Davidson started the segment off strong with a subtle allusion to the Grande drama making a joke about his new living situation by pointing out that his mom had to be embarrassed of both her son and her roommate. Its unclear how much of this segment was voluntary and how much of it was what co-star Kenan Thompson referred to earlier in the week as “figuring out a way to right that wrong.” It appeared that Davidson slightly rolled his eyes while grudgingly applauding for Crenshaw.
As for Crenshaw, theres no way of knowing what demands he made when agreeing to appear on the segment. The quips he made about Davidsons looks as well as the Grande ringtone gag were no doubt written by S.N.L. staff, but the more serious section on Veterans Day and (a very welcome) call for bi-partisan communication didnt exactly match the usual tenor of the show. Its possible Crenshaw—who lost his eye while serving in Afghanistan—made that more serious speech a condition of his appearance.
Much like its 2017/2018 addiction to all things Donald Trump, S.N.L. seems truly hooked on the weekly spectacle that is Davidsons personal turmoil and public gaffes. Which is a shame because outside of the Davidson drama, host Liev Schreiber did a surprisingly great job for an actor best-known for heavy drama. But solid, light sketch work on incest jokes and ghost stories wont go nearly as viral in the era of Trump.
Get Vanity Fairs HWD NewsletterSign up for essential industry and award news from Hollywood.Joanna RobinsonJoanna Robinson is a Hollywood writer covering TV and film for VanityFair.com.
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