Pete Davidson has made plenty of headlines over the past months thanks to his whirlwind romance, engagement, and subsequent breakup with Ariana Grande. Now, the Saturday Night Live player is making news for a whole other reason: Weekend Update. Davidson starred in a Weekend Update segment that had him sharing his first impressions of various political candidates, and he got himself into hot water when he mocked one candidate -- who also happens to be a war veteran -- for his eye patch.
Some called for Pete Davidson to apologize, but Dan Crenshaw has come out and stated that he doesn't need an apology. Here's what Crenshaw had to say:
I want us to get away from this culture where we demand apologies every time someone misspeaks. I think that would be very healthy for our nation to go in that direction. We don't need to be outwardly outraged. I don't need to demand apologies from them. They can do whatever they want, you know. They are feeling the heat from around the country right now, and that's fine.
Well, there you have it! Dan Crenshaw doesn't require an apology from Pete Davidson because he doesn't believe people should be required to apologize for everything others feel is problematic. Crenshaw undoubtedly wasn't thrilled that Davidson poked fun at his eye patch, and that's not even all Davidson had to say in his commentary on Crenshaw.
Pete Davidson opened by saying that Dan Crenshaw looks like "a hitman in a porno movie," and Davidson could barely contain his own laughter to deliver the joke about the Texas congressional candidate. It was after the hitman line that Davidson dropped his joke about the eye patch, saying that he was sorry for the hitman joke because he knows Crenshaw "lost his eye in war or whatever."
It's the "or whatever" that really rubbed a lot of folks the wrong way, although Weekend Update co-host Michael Che could be heard bursting out into laughter off-screen at Pete Davidson's joke. In fact, Che could also be heard incredulously laughing as soon as he saw a picture of Dan Crenshaw in his eyepatch and realized that Davidson was going to mock him.
Neither the porno hitman or the "or whatever" was enough to outrage Dan Crenshaw into demanding an apology. That said, he also shared some less-than-complimentary words about Pete Davidson and Saturday Night Live in his talk with TMZ:
But I would like [Davidson] and 'Saturday Night Live' to recognize something, which is that veterans across the country probably don't feel as though their wounds they received in battle should be the subject of a bad punchline for a bad joke. And here's the real atrocity in all of this: It wasn't even funny . . . It was just mean-spirited.
To Dan Crenshaw, Pete Davidson's Saturday Night Live comments simply weren't funny. Pete Davidson got some laughs on SNL, but veterans may not have all appreciated the humor, as Crenshaw evidently did not. It should be interesting to see how quickly this story fades away. With the end of campaign season and SNL undoubtedly moving on in the next episode, the jokes at Crenshaw's expense may lose their edge.
Only time will tell. New episodes of SNL air Saturdays on NBC. For some additional viewing options now and in the not-too-distant future, swing by our fall TV premiere schedule. Be sure to check out our list of upcoming SNL hosts as well.
