One Of Pete Davidson’s Principle Gifts Was On Display During ‘Weekend Update’

Pete Davidson returned to the Weekend Update desk for the fifth episode of Saturday Night Live’s 51st season last night, more than three years after he departed the show. 

There’s been some major developments in the comedian’s life in that time. He’s becoming a father, he performed at the Riyadh Comedy Festival and is even getting dozens of tattoos painstakingly removed. Davidson addressed all of this and more as he slid into his familiar spot to the left of Colin Jost. 

Jost introduced Davidson via a New York Times article about the pair’s toiling ownership of a defunct Staten Island Ferry. The story, published October 20, describes their boat ownership like this: “Nearly four years after they bought an out-of-service ferryboat for $280,100, their plans for a floating event space may be running aground.”

This financial distress, Davidson joked, is the reason he agreed to perform at the highly controversial Riyadh Comedy Festival in Saudi Arabia. “So yeah, 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 article says. I can't spend $5 on a paywall when I’ve got a kid on the way.”

Jost congratulates Davison, who flips the compliment into a roast of his own time working on SNL. “Yeah, I'm just, I'm just excited to be a dad, you know, and give it all the energy and enthusiasm I never had for this show.”

“I will tell you on the other side, I definitely prefer having a kid to a ferry,” Jost responded. 

“What are you really worried about? You know, you have a great job, and your uncle Robert is the HHS Secretary, right?” Davidson ribbed, referring to the Trump administration’s Department of Health and Human Services Secretary, Robert F. Kennedy. 

“For the last time, Pete, I'm not a Kennedy,” Jost said. 

But it wasn’t just the usual back-and-forth banter between Jost and Davidson. The real fastball of the segment was when Davidson set his sights on SNL creator and show runner Lorne Michaels. 

Framing his comment around the ongoing need to turn the ferry venture into a successful business, Davidson said: “If Lorne Michaels has taught us anything, it's that you never, ever give up, even if everyone says the time has come and Tina Fey is ready to take over for you.”

The snub was met with wild cheers from the audience and nervous laughter from both Jost and Michael Che, who can be heard chuckling just off camera. Michaels previously said he was considering retirement after SNL’s 50th season, but that benchmark has come and gone. He’s still helming the show. 

Davidson made sure to soften the sting of his joke about Michaels by refocusing his aim at himself and everyone sitting at the desk. “My point is, look, the ferry, it's fine,” Davidson said. “Sometimes the news just makes things seem worse than they are. Like how everyone was sure certain people would be exposed and ruined for being on the Epstein list, right? But look, it's 2025, and all three of us are still up here.”

The appearance illustrated that one of Pete Davidson’s principle gifts is to take whatever headlines swirl around him and turn them into punchlines.