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Pete Davidson‘s time on Saturday Night Live could’ve been short-lived if Lorne Michaels had followed through with the comedian’s request.
In Peacock’s new docuseries SNL50: Beyond Saturday Night, Davidson revealed that he wanted to get cut after starring on the late-night sketch show his first season.
“After my first year, I actually called for a meeting with Lorne and I was like, ‘Please fire me,’” Davidson recalled. “And he was like, ‘Why?’ I was like, ‘I don’t belong here. Everybody here’s so talented, and they don’t want to be my friend.’”
The King of Staten Island star said he was acting like a “child” and said, “I was like, ‘Nobody wants to be my friend.’ And he said, ‘You don’t figure it out until your third or fourth year. … It’s just gonna suck for three or four years.’ I was like, ‘All right,’ and he was right.”
In the first episode of the docuseries, Davidson watched his audition tape and joked, “How the f*** did I get this show,” adding, “It’s wild to see the hope in one’s eye.”
Davidson joined SNL in 2014 (Season 40) and left the NBC show in May 2022 after eight seasons.
The actor recently revealed how much he got paid during his first season on the comedy show. In an interview with New York Magazine, Davidson was asked what his first indulgence was after getting his first SNL paycheck.
“Do you guys know what they pay us?” Davidson replied. “It’s like three grand an episode, so I think I got dinner.”