Pete Davidson Returning to Host ‘SNL’

Nearly a year after he announced his exit, Pete Davidson will return to host the SNL stage on May 6, per Deadline. While it’s a familiar site to see an SNL alum return to host, it is a bit surprising to see a star return less than a year after departing the sketch comedy show.

Less than one year ago, he made his exit announcement in an Instagram post ahead of his final taping on May 22, 2022. “It’s crazy to think that today I’ll be doing my last one,” Davidson wrote. “When I got the show I was 20 years old and I had no idea what I was doing,” he added. “I still don’t but especially back then. I wasn’t really a sketch performer I was just a stand-up. I knew I could never keep up or go toe to toe with a Kenan Thompson or a Kate McKinnon so I was super scared at figuring out what I could possibly bring to or do for such a historic, respected show and platform.”

He made history as one of the youngest to ever be a full-time cast member by joining the show in 2014, and became popular for his impersonations. His exit came amid his high-profile nine-month relationship with reality star, Kim Kardashian. He left at the end of last season and is set to debut in Bupkis, which is also produced by SNL creator Lorne Michaels. The Peacock series premieres on May 4.

He revealed that his time on the show became “confusing” when he became the joke, seemingly as Kardashian’s ex-husband, Kanye West, ignited a one-sided war. 

“When it’s your own show and I’ll be sitting in the back watching the cold open and topical political humor or whatever in the culture, and they’re making fun of you and you gotta walk out and do a sketch next and hit your mark [and] the show just made fun of you, so why [is the audience] going to laugh at you? They just dogged you,” he said on Real Ones With Jon Bernthal. Davidson insists there’s no hard feelings between him and his former co-stars.