“Saturday Night Live” alum Pete Davidson crashed this week’s edition of Weekend Update to explain his controversial participation in Saudi Arabia’s Riyadh Comedy Festival.
“Well, the New York Times recently ran an article calling the Staten Island ferry that I purchased with Pete Davidson a ‘money-losing fiasco,’” Weekend Update co-host Colin Jost noted. He then introduced Davidson himself to further discuss the state of his and Jost’s decommissioned ferry, which they purchased in 2022.
“Yeah, in case you’re wondering why I had to do a show in Saudi Arabia… we’re losing millions on this ferry,” Davidson joked, after making his surprise “SNL” return. “I assume that’s what the article says. I can’t spend $5 on a paywall when I got a kid on the way.” Davidson added that he was looking forward to being a father and giving that “all the energy and enthusiasm I never had for this show.”
“I will tell you, on the other side, I definitely prefer having a kid to a ferry,” Jost replied. “We even gave the boat a new name,” Davidson said, telling viewers, “We thought the Staten Island Ferry sounded too depressing, so now it’s called the Titanic 2.”
You can check out Davidson’s “SNL” return yourself in the video below.
Pete Davidson is back at the desk! pic.twitter.com/RArk8etJtJ
— Saturday Night Live – SNL (@nbcsnl) November 9, 2025
“It’s actually going very well,” Jost assured his and Davidson’s fans, noting that they were recently paid by Nike to put an ad on the ferry promoting the New York City Marathon.
“Exactly,” Davidson chimed in. He credited their ferry’s newfound, brighter future to his former “SNL” boss, all while poking fun at creator Lorne Michaels’ long-rumored succession plan. “If Lorne Michaels has taught us anything, it’s that you never, ever give up,” Davidson said, adding, “Even if everyone says the time has come and Tina Fey is ready to take over.”
The “SNL” alum then used Zohran Mamdani’s election as New York City’s next mayor as a way to pitch his and Jost’s ferry to a certain group of voters. “I have a message for everyone who did not vote for our new mayor: Hey, Staten Islanders! Did you promise to move out of New York if Mamdani won, but have too many warrants in New Jersey and not enough guns for Florida?” Davidson asked, before teeing up a photoshopped image of his and Jost’s ferry as a floating city.
“Welcome to New Staten Island!” Davidson joked. “We can’t call it the Titanic anymore, since the people on this ship will actually love running into ICE.”
