Pete Davidson says he asked Lorne Michaels to fire him from 'Saturday Night Live' after his first year
: Dana Edelson/NBC/NBCU Photo Bank
- Pete Davidson said that he wanted to quit "Saturday Night Live" after his first year.
- Davidson felt like he didn't "belong" with his cast mates.
- He asked "SNL" boss Lorne Michaels to fire him and was told it would get better after three or four years.
Pete Davidson broke into Hollywood and pop culture through his work on "Saturday Night Live," but he wanted to quit the sketch comedy series early on.
"After my first year, I actually called for a meeting with Lorne," Davidson said in the new Peacock docuseries "SNL50: Beyond Saturday Night," referring to the show's creator and executive producer Lorne Michaels. "I was like, 'Please fire me.'"
Davidson made his "SNL" debut as a featured player during season 40, which aired between 2014 and 2015. At 20, he was one of the youngest-ever hires and the show's first cast member born in the 1990s. The comedian said that because of his age difference with the cast, he felt out of place.
"I was like 'I don't belong here. Everybody here is so talented and they don't want to be my friend,'" Davidson recalled telling Michaels. "I was a child. I was like, 'Nobody wants to be my friend.' And he said, 'You don't figure it out until your third or fourth year.'"
The comedian added that Michaels explained to him, "It's just gonna suck for like, three or four years."
"And he was right," Davidson said.
Dana Edelson/NBC/NBCU Photo Bank
Despite early reservations, Davidson stayed on "SNL" for eight seasons. During his time on the show, and since leaving in 2022, the comedian has kept busy with TV and film roles and comedy specials. He even returned to "SNL" as a host for the season 49 premiere in 2023.
Davidson is one of many "SNL" alums who appear in "SNL50," a four-part docuseries celebrating the show's 50th anniversary.
The docuseries includes never-before-seen audition footage, interviews with former "SNL" cast and crew members, a deep dive into one iconic sketch, and a breakdown of the messy but pivotal 11th season.
Reps for Michaels didn't immediately respond to a request for comment from Business Insider.
All episodes of "SNL50: Beyond Saturday Night" are streaming on Peacock.