Pete Davidson, who was among the comedians to receive widespread criticism over his decision to partake in this year’s Riyadh Comedy Festival in Saudi Arabia, jokingly addressed the pushback during his appearance on Saturday Night Live this weekend.
During the “Weekend Update” segment on Saturday (Nov. 8), Davidson, an SNL alum, spoke about a recent New York Times article in which his and Colin Jost’s Staten Island ferry project was referred to as a “money bleed.” For those unfamiliar, Davidson and Jost were first revealed to have purchased the decommissioned boat in 2022, with updates on their plans and the larger project behind it making headlines in the years since.
“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, decked out in Ruff Ryders merch, joked on Saturday. “I assume that’s what the article says. I can’t spend five dollars on a paywall when I got a kid on the way.”
In July, Davidson was confirmed to be expecting his first child with actress and model Elsie Hewitt.
“Welp now everyone knows we had sex,” Hewitt said on Instagram when announcing the pregnancy.
Among the other comedians who were on the lineup for the Riyadh Comedy Festival earlier this year were Dave Chappelle, Louis C.K., Bill Burr, Aziz Ansari, and Kevin Hart. Criticism of the event centered on Saudi Arabia’s well-documented human rights and censorship issues. Shane Gillis, another SNL alum, said he declined an invite despite being offered a “significant” amount of money, saying back in September that he chose to take “a principled stand.”
As for the ferry, Davidson has jokingly called the boat “Titanic 2” over the years. In a 2023 interview with Complex, the Dumb Money and Bupkis actor further joked that he and Jost “would love” for Titanic director James Cameron “to become a partner in the project.”