Veteran Dan Crenshaw Reaches out to Troubled ‘SNL’ Star Pete Davidson

Dan Crenshaw, the Republican politician who Pete Davidson made fun of during a recent Saturday Night Live show, is supporting the comic after what he called a “cry for help.”

The U.S. Representative-elect for Texas’ 2nd congressional district said on Houston Newsmakers that he reached out to Davidson over the weekend.

“I talked to him personally yesterday and talked to him a little bit about it,” Crenshaw said. “We don’t go back very far, we’re not good friends, but I think he appreciated hearing from me.”

He said that he told Davidson, “Everybody has a purpose in this world; God put you here for a reason, but it is your job to find that purpose. You should live that way, you should live that way seeking out that purpose, not expecting it to be given to you by anybody else. Know that you have value and do more good for people than you realize for people.”

Crenshaw said that he thinks Davidson’s talents help make him important in today’s world. “He makes people laugh — sometimes he makes people mad, but he also makes people laugh a lot and that’s what we talked about. It was a good conversation,” he said.

During SNL‘s “Weekend Update” segment a few weeks ago, Davidson quipped, “You may be surprised to hear [Crenshaw’s] a congressional candidate from Texas and not a hitman in a porno movie. I’m sorry. I know he lost his eye in war or whatever.” Crenshaw lost his eye to an IED in Afghanistan during his third combat tour.

Davidson’s words sparked controversy on both sides of the political aisle, including SNL co-star Kenan Thompson who said Davidson “missed the mark,” but he and Crenshaw made up behind the scenes. Crenshaw was even invited to the SNL set where Davidson apologized for his remarks.

Last Saturday, Davidson worried fans when he shared a seemingly suicidal message to Instagram saying that he really didn’t “want to be on this earth anymore.” He did not appear in any SNL live sketches that night; his only live appearance was to introduce musical guests Miley Cyrus and Mark Ronson.

Davidson’s ex-fiancée, Ariana Grande, reportedly rushed to 30 Rockefeller Center but was turned away by security on behalf of Davidson. Instead, he relied on his SNL cast as well as friend Machine Gun Kelly, who he was seen leaving SNL with and who said that “It’s just a weird time for all of us right now.”

The two co-star in the upcoming movie Big Time Adolescence, which is set to premiere at the Sundance Film Festival. The rapper jumped into action when Davidson’s distress call went up on social media on Saturday.

“I’m in the plane now on the way to see Pete,” Kelly wrote hours after Davidson’s suicidal post went up. “Gonna make sure he’s good, I promise. Can’t have my boy in the darkness like that.”