When we last saw Pete Davidson on Saturday Night Live before the holidays, he was introducing Miley Cyrus as musical guest. It was the 25-year-old comedian’s way of letting viewers know that he was OK—and perhaps not yet ready to perform comedy—after threatening suicide on Instagram and prompting both the NYPD and ex-fiancée Ariana Grande to show up at 30 Rock to confirm he was safe.
Davidson was back in fighting shape this week on the show’s first episode of 2019, appearing in several sketches including the cold open next to Alec Baldwin’s Donald Trump. But when he sat down for one of his frequent appearances on “Weekend Update” towards the end of the episode, he didn’t really want to talk about everything that went down.
“As you know, I’ve had a really crazy month and I want to talk about something that matters a lot to me,” Davidson said. When Colin Jost asked if he was talking about “mental health,” he said no. He wanted to talk about Clint Eastwood’s The Mule.
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Joined by his friend, fellow stand-up comic and former SNL writer John Mulaney, Davidson had never seemed happier than he did discussing just how insane Eastwood’s latest film is.
“I have been spending time with Pete to try to show him that you can have a life in comedy that is not insane,” Mulaney said. “A sober, domestic life.”
“Yeah, and after observing John’s life, I publicly threatened suicide,” Davidson said. “I’m sorry. I shouldn’t make that joke, but it is funny.”
After looking Davidson in the eye to tell him that he’s “loved by many and we are glad you are OK,” they went back to talking about The Mule: “The greatest, weirdest, most bananas movie ever made about a 90-year-old drug mule.”
