One month after posting an alarming message to Instagram, Pete Davidson made his return to Saturday Night Live and addressed the metaphorical elephant in the room in a rather interesting way.
During the “Weekend Update” portion of the show, Davidson chatted with co-anchors Michael Che and Colin Jost and said he wanted to talk about something very important to him.
“Oh, okay. Mental health?” Jost asked. “No,” Davidson replied. “The new Clint Eastwood movie, The Mule!” Out came fellow comedian and former SNL writer John Mulaney to discuss the film and how he has been spending time with Davidson to try to show him that comedians can have a life that is “not insane — a sober, domestic life.”
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"Yeah, and after observing John's life, I publicly threatened suicide," Davidson quipped. "I'm sorry, I know I shouldn't make that joke...but it's funny!"
Davidson alarmed fans, family, and friends when he made a disturbing Instagram post indicating he was having suicidal thoughts back in December. Davidson later deleted his entire account but received an outpouring of support from fans and fellow celebrities including his ex, Ariana Grande.
The comedian, who has been open about his struggles with borderline personality disorder and Crohn’s disease, is no stranger to cracking jokes about what’s going on in his life. Mulaney brought things back to the serious side for a second and said: "Pete, look me in the eye: you are loved by many and we are glad that you are okay."
Going back to The Mule, which Mulaney described as a “superhero movie for old people,” things got a little weird again. The comedians noted that Eastwood, who plays the titular character had not one, but two threesomes in the film. “I’ve had one and I guess you’ve [Mulaney] had none,” Davidson tossed in the conversation. Thanks for that super um, fun fact, Pete.
Speaking of fun facts, Davidson couldn’t resist making one last joke. “I didn’t mention her once!” he yelled at the end of the bit, seemingly referring to Grande.
One thing’s for certain: Davidson hasn’t lost his sometimes-weird sense of humor.
If you are in crisis, please call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 1-800-273-TALK (8255) or the Suicide Crisis Line at 1-800-784-2433.