Comedian Pete Davidson made his return to Saturday Night Life last night after posting distressing suicide messages less than a month ago. Davidson has admitted to substance abuse issues in the past, which have seemingly come back to the light of a very public break-up with "Thank U, Next" singer Ariana Grande. And yet, there he was, at the Weekend Update desk sitting next to John Mulaney, his old running mate. The comedic went a little something like..
"I didn’t realize you guys hung out together,” asks Weekend Update co-anchor Colin Jost as John Mulaney re-enters the set. "Yeah, we do, but a lot of times it looks like I’m Pete’s lawyer,” Mulaney replies. "But for real, I’ve been spending time with Pete to try to show him that you can have a life in comedy that is not insane — a sober, domestic life."
Then without further ado, Pete Davidson enters on cue, just as the conversation calls for a personal, albeit slightly fictional anecdote about his suicidal condition of the past month. "Yeah, and after observing John's life," Davidson responds. "I publicly threatened suicide. I’m sorry, I know I shouldn’t make that joke…but it is funny." Davidson's acknowledgment of the situation, public or otherwise, is a huge step forward.