Pete Davidson Sits Out Final ‘Saturday Night Live’ Sketches of 2018
LOS ANGELES (Variety.com) – Just hours after “Saturday Night Live” cast member Pete Davidson posted a message on social media that said he “really [didn’t] want to be on this Earth anymore,” he was absent from the final 2018 live sketches of the late-night sketch comedy show.
But although Davidson did not take part in the sketches or appear behind the “Weekend Update” desk to deliver one of his famous monologues, he did appear in a pre-taped “Oscar host auditions” segment, during which he played Rami Malek (“Mr. Robot,” “Bohemian Rhapsody”) and he also stepped on stage to introduce Miley Cyrus and Mark Ronson for their second song of the night.
Davidson’s cast mates did not use time during the show comment on the message he posted earlier in the day.
Davidson’s full post, which was written earlier on Saturday read, “I really don’t want to be on this Earth anymore. I’m doing my best to stay here for you but I actually don’t know how much longer I can last. All I’ve ever tried to do was help people. Just remember I told you so.” He closed it with the heart emoji. He then deleted his Instagram account.
The message was shared by many of his famous friends and colleagues, who sent their well-wishes to the comedian and also pointed out that Davidson has been very open about his struggle to be mentally healthy (he revealed a borderline personality disorder diagnosis last year). However, the post was also responded to by quite a number of internet trolls who actually urged Davidson to go through with killing himself.
The NYPD had performed a welfare check on Davidson earlier in the day after his social media post went viral. They reported he was at work at 30 Rockefeller Plaza, rehearsing for the show.
“” airs live coast-to-coast Saturdays at 11:30 p.m. ET / 8:30 p.m. PT on NBC.