Pete Davidson may have received positive marks for his gentlemanly treatment of his breakup with Ariana Grande during his appearance on Saturday Night Live‘s “Weekend Update,” but his comments about one GOP candidate’s wartime injury have a lot of viewers crying foul.
In the segment, he lampooned certain office-seekers for their appearances, including saying Florida’s Rick Scott looked “like someone tried to whittle Bruce Willis out of a penis” and that New York’s Peter King looked “like if a cigar came to life.”
When he turned his attention to Dan Crenshaw, a retired Navy SEAL who served several tours of duty and lost his eye in an IED blast in 2012, however, some viewers were unamused by Davidson’s jokes at Crenshaw’s expense. After showing an image of Crenshaw wearing his eyepatch, Davidson said, “You may be surprised to hear he’s a congressional candidate in Texas and not a hit man in a porno movie.” He went on to chuckle while shrugging as he said, “I’m sorry. I know he lost his eye in war or whatever.”
Crenshaw took to Twitter to pan Davidson’s joke, writing, “I hope [Saturday Night Live] recognizes that vets don’t deserve to see their wounds used as punchlines for bad jokes.”
The National Republican Congressional Committee is demanding an apology from NBC and Davidson for mocking Texas Republican Dan Crenshaw’s disability during a sketch last night. The Weekend Update diatribe by Davidson attacked various politicians and their alleged appearances.
NRCC spokesperson Jack Pandol also criticized Davidson, and referred to the comedian’s closing comments, wherein he briefly explained his recent split with fiance and pop superstar Ariana Grande.
“Getting dumped by your pop star girlfriend is no excuse for lashing out at a decorated war hero who lost his eye serving our country,” said Pandol’s statement. “Pete Davidson and NBC should immediately apologize to Dan, and to the millions of veterans and military families who tune in every weekend – because they’re not laughing.”
(Excerpts) Read More at: TVGuide.com and Deadline.com
