Pete Davidson reportedly at Saturday Night Live following troubling message
Earlier today, the comedian posted a message on his Instagram reading “i really don’t want to be on this earth anymore. i’m doing my best to stay here for you but i actually don’t know how much longer i can last.” He later then deleted the message, but not before concern for him spread all over the country. Davidson has a history of mental health issues and was diagnosed with borderline personality disorder in late 2016. He has worked hard in order to recover from that and has also discussed it publicly on the series itself.
Davidson has also had a fairly tumultuous 2018, one that includes a relationship with pop singer Ariana Grande that escalated quickly, leading to an engagement. The relationship fizzled earlier this year, which led to a barrage of social-media comments and of course jokes at his expense. Some of his issues, including some controversial jokes about then-Congressional candidate Dan Crenshaw, were entirely self-inflicted. (Davidson later apologized to Crenshaw on SNL, and allowed him the opportunity to make some jokes at his expense. He has long been the sort of comedian who uses laughter as a way to channel and deal with difficult, painful subject matter.)
Regardless of your opinion on Pete Davidson as a comedian or a person, suicidal thoughts and mental-health issues are no laughing matter. Actor Jon Cryer posted on Twitter this afternoon that Davidson is at Saturday Night Live, where rehearsals are presumably happening for tonight’s new episode, and is accounted for. Hopefully there some of his fellow cast members can rally around him and offer some support during what must be a difficult time. Beyond that, we hope that he is able to get the help that he needs and potentially some time away from the spotlight over the next few weeks. SNL is going to be on hiatus until the new year, but even beyond that his own health is infinitely more important than a comedy show. This is a home and a haven for him to go back to whenever he is healthy and ready to do so.
For now, our thoughts just go out to Pete as we hope that he can find some way to recover and get the support that he absolutely needs at this time. (Photo: NBC.)