“Saturday Night Live” sources have been snarling to Page Six for months that cast member and unlikely lothario Pete Davidson has been getting unfair star treatment — and Davidson’s bashing of the show Monday presumably won’t help to soothe tensions.
Davidson got time off to shoot the “Suicide Squad” sequel in Atlanta and was also allowed to skip the show for pal Ricky Velez’s wedding. Lorne Michaels, the show’s creator, “gave him the week off to go,” said an insider, adding that that is “unheard of.”
Plus, we’re told, Davidson doesn’t play a big role in the writers’ room. “Pete has a pretty cushy gig, to say the least,” said a source. “The cast isn’t into him,” said another. “He’s just there — he doesn’t add much.”
Monday, news broke that Davidson was ready to leave the NBC show, because “I’m literally painted out to be this big dumb idiot.” He said in an interview with Charlamagne tha God, “I personally think I should be done with that show because they make fun of me. They think I’m f–king dumb … I have a weird feeling in that building where I don’t know whose team they’re playing for, really; if I’m the joke or I’m in on the joke.” His personal life does seem to have eclipsed his characters: He’s discussed his 2018 breakup with Ariana Grande and living with his mom on Staten Island in “Weekend Update” segments.
A show source said, “Lorne recognizes that Pete is enormously valuable to the show. The nature of any ensemble cast is to make use of each person’s unique comedy style. The show works with cast members’ best interests in mind.”
Michaels arranged for Davidson to get help around his 2018 suicide scare, and Davidson calls Michaels a “father figure,” even though “I just feel like, yeah, I’ve done as much as I can over there.” The comic isn’t short on other work, with an upcoming Netflix special and the Hulu film “Big Time Adolescence.”
Reps for “SNL” didn’t comment.
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