When Pete Davidson appeared on Weekend Update for the SNL season finale back in May, it sure did sound like the show’s large adult son might be saying goodbye. Davidson reinforced that idea a few days later during a roundtable chat for The Hollywood Reporter, where he was asked if he had any interest in beating co-star Kenan Thompson’s record 18-season run. “I’m good,” Davidson said at the time.
The star of “The King of Staten Island” — who previously hinted that he’s ready to pursue other opportunities — isn’t easing up on the rumors that he’s leaving the NBC sketch series, saying in a new interview that his role is “up in the air.”
“I don’t know what the plan is,” he told Gold Derby on Monday. “Everything’s kind of up in the air right now just depending on scheduling.”
Davidson, 27, said Season 46, which ended in May, was “really emotional” because it was the seventh — and seemingly final — year of his contract.
“It is my seventh year, and that’s usually what the contract’s usually for, so it was really emotional,” he shared. “I worked with these guys for a fourth of my life, and I started there with acne and left with tattoos, and it was just, like, a very crazy, long period of time.
“I wasn’t ready for the season to end yet because I was really having so much fun,” the “Big Time Adolescence” actor continued. “Just watching it go from one-third of an audience to [one-half] … and the last show was a full audience for the first time, just hearing that laugh, that full room laugh … I was just so emotional.”
Davidson previously said he was “ready to hang up the jersey” in regard to his time on “SNL” during a roundtable for The Hollywood Reporter published at the end of May.
The comedian and several other key cast members, including Kate McKinnon and Cecily Strong, first sparked exit rumors during this year’s season finale. While closing out “Weekend Update,” Davidson delivered an emotional message that made fans question whether he was throwing in the towel.
“I’m very grateful to be here, and it’s been an honor to grow up in front of you guys,” he told the audience.
An NBC source told Page Six at the time that contracts for Season 47 would not be decided until later in the summer.
Sometimes moving on is the best option. Regardless what Pete decides, he’s going to be just fine.
