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Pete Davidson closed a major chapter in his life when he decided to step away from Saturday Night Live, which he reflected on in an emotional letter — saying he “owed” his “life” to the legendary series as well as creator Lorne Michaels. As the 28-year-old doesn’t have social media, he posted the message via his close friend Dave Sirus, who also co-wrote The King Of Staten Island with him. In the video portion of the post, a 20-year-old Pete is seen hugging Jerrod Carmichael after his very first episode at Studio 8H back in 2014.
“This video was taken 8 years ago. Jerrod sent it to me last night and it made me super emotional in the best way. In the video I had just gotten back from doing my very first update and sketch,” the Staten Island native began. “It’s crazy to think that today I’ll be doing my last one. When I got the show I was 20 years old and I had no idea what I was doing. I still don’t but especially back then. I wasn’t really a sketch performer I was just a stand up,” he wrote. Pete holds the record for being the youngest ever cast member to join the series. His exit comes amid a cast shakeup, that also included the departures of Kate McKinnon, Aidy Bryant, and Kyle Mooney.
Pete also tipped his hat off to Kate — who was on the show for a decade — in the letter. “I knew I could never keep up or go toe to toe with a Kenan Thompson or a Kate McKinnon so I was super scared at figuring out what I could possibly bring to or do for such a historic, respected show and platform,” he explained, revealing that was how he ended up as a Weekend Update regular with close friend Colin Jost.
“I figured since I’m a stand up I’ll just try my stand-up and personal bits on Weekend Update as myself and I’m so glad I did. I got to share so much with this audience and literally grow up in front of your eyes. We were together through the good and the bad, the happiest and the darkest of times,” he said.
Pete’s final appearance on the show was, fittingly, alongside Jost and Michael Che on Weekend Update where he cracked a number of jokes, including one about advice he got from Lorne when getting engaged to ex-fiancée Ariana Grande after just two weeks. Notably, Pete also made reference to girlfriend Kim Kardashian‘s ex-husband Kanye West — but simply made mention of the fact “millions” were waiting for him to bring up the Yeezy designer.
“I owe Lorne Michaels and everyone at SNL my life. I’m so grateful and I wouldn’t be here without them. I appreciate you guys always having my back and sticking up for me even when that wasn’t the popular opinion,” he said towards the end of the letter. “Thank you for always believing in me and sticking by my side even when it seemed comical. Thank you for teaching me life values, how to grow up and for giving me memories that will last a lifetime. SNL is my home. I’m so happy and sad about tonight’s show. For so many reasons I can’t explain. Can’t wait to be back next year in a [John] Mulaney musical number,” he added, signing off as “resident young person Pete Davidson.”