By Tracey Porpora
Staten Island Advance
STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. — Going home for the Thanksgiving holiday was the perfect setup for Saturday Night Live’s Pete Davidson to take another shot at his hometown -- this time for almost five minutes.
In the SNL Weekend Update skit focused on why his hometown doesn’t like him, Davidson managed to bash police and firefighters, and teased the Advance and SILive.com for not painting him in as favorable a light as his Weekend Update co-host, the likable Colin Jost, who is also an Island native.
“I know Staten Island isn’t all heroin and racist cops, you know. It also has meth and racist firefighters,” said Davidson during the nationwide broadcast.
‘WHY DON’T THEY LIKE YOU?’
Davison explains at the start of the skit how he’s not going home for Thanksgiving partly because, “I feel like my hometown doesn’t like me.”
“Why do you think they don’t like you Pete?” asks Jost.
Davidson replies, “If I had to guess, it’s something I said in an interview once. ...that I wished when Hurricane Sandy had hit Staten Island it had finished the job.”
Davidson calls the comment, “Just a joke -- a serious joke.”
“I don’t feel like that anymore. I’d be just as happy if there was no hurricane and Staten Island just fell into the sea,” quipped Davidson.
ADVANCE CRITIQUE
During the skit, Davidson cuts to Staten Island Advance newspaper and silive.com clips of Jost playing golf at the inaugural Celebrity Golf & Tennis Outing to benefit the St. George Theatre. He quotes the article’s opening sentence “It’s about three weeks until the election, but you could never tell by Colin Jost’s swing.”
The story focused on the image of Jost playing golf, who is usually seen as a suited comedian on SNL’s weekend update.
Davidson compares this a story to an article the Advance published about his Comedy Central special, “Pete Davidson: SMD.” While the Advance story actually touts parts of his comedic performance, Davidson pulled out one line from the story focusing on a Weekend Update skit: “The best part of this one was his interaction with Colin Jost.”
Davidson also takes a shot at the New York Post’s Dean Balsamini (a former Islander and Advance staffer) for stories he wrote about Davidson’s disdain for Staten Island -- including a joke that Davidson would “end up sleeping with the fishes” if he persisted in his Staten Island attacks.
Many people expressed their surprise on social media about Davidson’s candid comments -- especially toward police and firefighters.
However, many social media posts tout the skit -- and further bash Staten Island.
What do you think about the skit? Are you offended? Or was it funny? Tell us in the comments below.
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