Top 10 Times Pete Davidson Broke on SNL

On the night before 2018’s Super Bowl, “SNL” aired this hilarious sketch that put a historical spin on the battle between the New England Patriots and the Philadelphia Eagles. Although the episode was hosted by Natalie Portman, “SNL” icons Tina Fey and Rachel Dratch also appear in this sketch. So it’s no wonder Pete Davidson barely made it through without cracking. While Davidson manages to keep it together for the first half of the bit, once Fey and her Philadelphia trio burst onto the scene, it’s a wrap for him. The comedian attempts to hide behind the document he’s holding, but next to Beck Bennett’s and Kyle Mooney’s very serious faces, he stands out like a sore thumb.

Things barely stayed afloat in this “Weekend Update” segment featuring Pete Davidson and Alex Moffat’s ‘Guy Who Just Bought A Boat’. Moffat first joins Colin Jost in the bit, delivering a spurt of the recurring character’s signature nautical jokes. They are then joined by Davidson, after it is revealed that he just purchased a ferry alongside Jost and a third partner. Davidson makes a joke about New York City mayor Eric Adams and breaks immediately after. It’s all downhill from there. Once Moffat launches into a flurry of thinly-veiled sex euphemisms, Davidson barely contains himself and has to look away. By the end of the bit, there’s no use hiding, as even Jost can’t keep it together.

In this sketch, host Sandra Oh plays a substitute teacher who conducts SAT test prep for a bunch of high schoolers. Aidy Bryant, Kate McKinnon and Kyle Mooney play students who hilariously veer off into dramatic philosophical monologues that have nothing to do with the practice questions. While all three ham it up, Pete Davidson just remains in the background trying not to break character the whole time. Just like these fictional students at their eventual exams, he fails woefully. Surprisingly, when it comes time to deliver his own short speech, he powers through it without letting up. Even though these kids learned nothing in preparation for their SATs, at least they… learned each other?

After two Virginia officials admit to doing blackface back in the ‘80s, in college, an emergency meeting of the Virginia state representatives is called. Kenan Thompson’s Chair of the Ethics Committee slowly realizes that every member has also done the same at some point. Pete Davidson plays one of the reps and admits to once dressing up as Mr. T. The sketch proceeds and all is going well until Mikey Day’s character owns up to not only putting the inappropriate costume on his face, but also on his rear end. At this point, Davidson simply loses it. We can’t say we blame him though. If the joke’s good enough to nearly break Thompson, there’s hardly hope for anyone else.

Dave Chappelle hosting the first post-election “SNL” episode is now becoming a tradition and it all started with this 2016 episode. For this sketch, Chappelle plays a 43-year-old man who is still breastfed by his mother, much to the shock of his friends. When Chappelle gets milk sprayed on his face, Davidson is all but done for. He unsuccessfully tries to hide his laughter behind a cookie and a beer bottle, but there’s no coming back for him. Davidson fully loses it after he gets his own dose of the nourishing liquid. It’s obvious a Davidson and Chapelle combo is always a recipe for disaster, as the two both broke character in the “Uncle Ben” sketch years later.

This sketch probably holds the record for the shortest time it took a cast member to break. And that was set by none other than Pete Davidson. Davidson plays “body endurance artist” Dante Raven, who competes for the heart of Awkwafina’s bachelorette in this absurd dating show. None of the other magicians are remotely close to boyfriend-worthy material, but at least they’re able to keep their act together. Davidson, on the other hand, breaks character the moment he makes his first appearance. The comedian has just two lines throughout the sketch and barely avoids fumbling both of them. But somehow, he manages to still do better than Leslie Jones, who owes everything to the notecards she’s holding.

This sketch is hinged on a pretty straightforward premise. An earthquake strikes a change of name office and a news crew is sent to cover the incident. But things take a hilarious turn when the victims start saying their names. Pete Davidson’s firefighter was most likely written to laugh at the absurd names being read out, but it’s very easy to differentiate when it’s the character laughing and when it’s Davidson breaking. The latter happens so often it starts to seem like he is laughing in delight over the jokes he likely contributed to, rather than just at the funny names. You can see how proudly he applauds when the doctor calls out the last one.

In this 2016 sketch, Pete Davidson plays a boy who struggles to learn algebra until he receives some timely help from his bedroom posters. The framed characters played by Mikey Day, Kenan Thompson and Kate McKinnon all offer helpful suggestions, while Emma Stone’s model just goes on and on about her hotdog. You’d think it’s Stone’s nasally voice and her “fat, gross” piece of food that’ll send Davidson over the edge. But instead, it is when Thompson utters his very first line that the comedian brings the entire sketch to a halt. Davidson nearly breaks into a fit of laughter but manages to hold it off and gets right back into character after a short moment.

It’s quite an unspoken rule to never order lobster at a diner. Pete Davidson’s character in this sketch, however, decides to break that rule. By doing so, he triggers a “Les Misérables” type musical, in which the lobster, played by Kenan Thompson, sings in lament as his life comes to an end. It’s a surreal and brilliant sketch, but per usual, Davidson wastes no time in breaking character. In fact, he doesn’t even bother hiding behind a prop or looking away. He just openly laughs at the camera when it cuts back to him. Makes you wonder if he’s ever present for the dress rehearsals or sees everything for the first time during the live shows.

This arguably ranks as one of the greatest “SNL” sketches in recent history, and that’s largely due to Adam Driver’s portrayal of aging oil baron Abraham H. Parnassus. Driver’s performance is also the reason why Pete Davidson breaks damn near the entire scene. Davidson plays Parnassus’ son, who has to sit in the front row, while his father addresses his class for Career Day. Driver’s commitment to the role and his constant outbursts at Davidson just dissolve him into a fit of giggles. We’re certain hardly anyone could’ve gotten through this without doing the same. So if there is any time Pete Davidson should get a pass for breaking character, it would definitely be this one.