Additional Coverage:
- Pete Davidson joked he did the Riyadh Comedy Festival because he’s ‘losing millions’ owning a Staten Island Ferry (businessinsider.com)
Pete Davidson Docks on SNL to Joke About Ferry Fiasco
Staten Island native and “Saturday Night Live” alum Pete Davidson made a surprise appearance on the show’s “Weekend Update” segment, poking fun at recent reports detailing the financial woes of his 2022 Staten Island Ferry purchase with fellow comedian Colin Jost.
Davidson didn’t hold back, quipping about the costly investment. “So yeah, in case you’re wondering why I had to do a show in Saudi Arabia, we’re losing millions on this ferry,” he joked, alluding to his recent performance at the Riyadh Comedy Festival. He then added a personal touch, “I assume that’s what the article says; I can’t spend $5 on a paywall when I got a kid on the way,” referencing his impending fatherhood with girlfriend Elsie Hewitt.
“Weekend Update” co-host Colin Jost, Davidson’s partner in the ferry venture, chimed in with a more optimistic, albeit tongue-in-cheek, update. He claimed things were “actually going very well,” citing a recent Nike ad placement on the ferry during the New York City Marathon.
Davidson, however, had grander – and funnier – plans, especially with the fictional election of Zohran Mamdani as mayor of New York City. “Hey, Staten Islanders, did you promise to move out of New York if Mamdani won but have too many warrants for New Jersey and not enough guns for Florida?
Well, welcome to New Staten Island,” Davidson declared, holding up a whimsical image of a mini-city built on the ferry. His vision for “New Staten Island” included “the pizza…,” at which point he humorously ran out of other appealing features to list.
Davidson and Jost, both proud Staten Islanders, shelled out $280,100 for the decommissioned ferry in 2022 with the ambitious goal of transforming it into a floating comedy club.
The comedians have since expressed a healthy dose of buyer’s remorse. Davidson confessed last year at a movie premiere that he and Jost were “very stoned” when they made the purchase.
When asked if the ferry would host the after-party, he humorously exclaimed, “Hopefully it turns into a Transformer and gets the f— out of there so I can stop paying for it!” Jost echoed similar sentiments in 2024, telling People, “It is absolutely the dumbest and least thought-through purchase I’ve ever made in my life.”