Pete Davidson made a surprise appearance on “Saturday Night Live” over the weekend to make light of a recent New York Times story that said he and his “SNL” friend Colin Jost’s purchase of a Staten Island Ferry is a “money-losing fiasco.”
“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 joked, referring to his infamous appearance at the Riyadh Comedy Festival.
“I assume that’s what the article says; I can’t spend $5 on a paywall when I got a kid on the way,” added Davidson, who’s expecting a child with girlfriend Elsie Hewitt.
Davidson made his “SNL” appearance in the middle of the “Weekend Update” segment co-hosted by Jost, who added that things are “actually going very well” with the ferry, as they got paid by Nike to place an ad on it during the New York City Marathon.
But Davidson joked about a more ambitious plan for the ferry now that Zohran Mamdani has been elected mayor of New York City.
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“Hey, Staten Islanders, did you promise to move out of New York if Mamdani won but have too many warrants for New Jersey and not enough guns for Florida? Well, welcome to New Staten Island,” Davidson said, holding up a picture of a small city on the ferry.
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“It will have everything that makes Staten Island great: the pizza…,'” said Davidson, who ran out of things to highlight after pizza.
Davidson and Jost, who are both from Staten Island, bought a decommissioned Staten Island ferry boat in 2022 for $280,100 with plans to turn it into a floating comedy club.
A year later, while asked about it at the red carpet premiere of his movie “Transformers: Rise of the Beasts,” Davidson revealed that he and Jost were “very stoned” when they bought it.
When asked if his ferry would be used for the premiere’s after party, Davidson responded, “Hopefully it turns into a Transformer and gets the fuck out of there so I can stop paying for it!”
Jost has also voiced buyer’s remorse. “It is absolutely the dumbest and least thought-through purchase I’ve ever made in my life,” he told People in 2024.
