Pete Davidson Booed on SNL for Comparing R. Kelly to Catholic Church
‘I don't really see the difference,’ the comedian joked. ‘Only one's music is significantly better.’
Saturday Night Live’s Pete Davidson prefaced his comments about accused pedophile R. Kelly on “Weekend Update” this week by saying, “Before I continue, this guy is a monster and he should go to jail forever.”
Then he continued, “But if you support the Catholic Church, isn’t that like the same thing as being an R. Kelly fan?”
That line drew audible boos from the crowd, but Davidson was undeterred. “I don’t really see the difference,” he added. “Only one’s music is significantly better. Just the other day my mom was like, ‘I’m going to mass.’ And I was like, ‘OK, I’m going to go listen to the ‘Ignition’ remix.”
“Look, I’m not saying it’s an easy decision,” Davidson said. “I’m just saying you don’t know how good someone’s music really is until you find out they’re a pedophile. You know? The reason everybody is so upset is R. Kelly and Michael Jackson made great music, you know. But if I found out Macklemore did some weird stuff, I’d be happy to free up some space on my iPhone.”
And to people who ask, “How can you listen to that music after what he did?” Davidson answered, “I don’t know, headphones?”
“Believe me, look, once we start doing our research, we’re not going to have much left, you know?” he added. “Because it seems like all really talented people are sick.” Turning to anchor Colin Jost, he said, “Don’t worry, Colin, you and me are good.” But not Michael Che, he added, “Che’s a genius.”
With artists like R. Kelly, Davidson said “the rule should be, if you want to listen to their music, you just have to admit that they’re bad people.” Asked why he can’t just stop listening altogether, he replied, “All I’m saying is pretending these people never existed is maybe not the solution.”
“So here’s my plan and hopefully you guys like it,” he added. “Every time any of us listen to a song or watch a movie made by an accused sexual predator, you have to give a dollar to charity that helps sexual assault survivors. I’ve already donated $142. That’s just from the ‘Ignition’ remix alone.”
Davidson ended his appearance by firing back at critics who disapprove of the age difference between him and new girlfriend Kate Beckinsale—he’s 25, she’s 45.
“It doesn’t really bother us,” he said. “But then again, I’m new to this. So if you have questions about a relationship with a big age difference just ask Leonardo DiCaprio, Jason Statham, Michael Douglas, Richard Gere, Jeff Goldblum, Scott Disick, George Clooney, Dane Cook, Derek Jeter, Bruce Willis, Harrison Ford, Tommy Lee, Sean Penn, whoever the president of France is, Mel Gibson, Billy Joel, Ben Kingsley, Mick Jagger, Liev Schreiber, Sylvester Stallone, Kelsey Grammer, Larry King, Larry King, Larry King, Rod Stewart and Donald Trump.”