UPDATE: 5/21/22 9 p.m. ET — Pete Davidson confirmed his SNL exit hours ahead of the season 47 finale in an emotional statement reflecting on his eight years with the sketch comedy series.
Original story:
A long time coming! After much speculation, Pete Davidson is leaving Saturday Night Live after eight seasons, according to multiple outlets.
The Hollywood Reporter and Variety reported on Friday, May 20, that Davidson, 28, is expected to leave the sketch comedy show following the season 47 finale on Saturday, May 21.
The King of Staten Island star originally joined the show for season 40 in 2014. Just 20 years old at the time, he was one of the series’ youngest cast members ever.
After he gave an unusually sentimental performance during SNL’s season 46 finale in May 2021, fans began to wonder whether Davidson was ready to call his sketch comedy career quits.
“It was an emotional week,” the New York native told Gold Derby in June 2021 when asked about his heartfelt words on the episode. “Speaking for myself, I don’t know what the plan is. Everything’s kind of up in the air right now just depending on scheduling.”
The Big Time Adolescence actor also noted at the time that his contract was up.
“It is my seventh year and that’s what the contract is usually for,” he added. “[The finale] was really emotional. I worked with these guys for a fourth of my life. … I started there with acne and left with tattoos. It was just like a crazy, long period of time, and [I] wasn’t ready for the season to end yet because I was really having so much fun.”
According to Davidson, seeing a full audience for the first time since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic made him emotional as well.
“Just hearing that laugh, like the full room laugh … it made me very emotional to be able to perform in front of a full crowd again,” he said. “It was just a crazy night.”
A month prior, the comedian revealed that he was ready to move on in his career. “Yeah, I’m good,” the Dirt actor told The Hollywood Reporter in May 2021. “I’m surprised I made it to seven [seasons]. I’m ready to hang up the jersey.”
Nevertheless, Davidson stayed on for season 47, which premiered in October 2021. That same month, the comedian worked alongside Kim Kardashian during her SNL hosting debut.
The couple sparked up a romance after sharing a kiss on the show, and by November 2021 a source exclusively told Us Weekly that Kardashian, 41, was “falling for” Davidson.
In April, the duo made their red carpet debut at the White House Correspondents Dinner in Washington, D.C. Weeks later, they again stepped out as an item to attend the 2022 Met Gala in New York City.
“Everyone in Kim’s family absolutely adores Pete and loves Pete for Kim. He fits in so well with her life and with her family,” a source exclusively told Us in May after the twosome walked both red carpets. “Kim has also made Pete grow up in a big way and think about his future and business in a huge way.”
