Pete Davidson at the Cleveland Cavaliers vs New York Knicks game at Madison Square Garden in 2021. Photo: Michael Simon/Reuters.
Pete Davidson, who was underutilized on Saturday Night Live, is known for having dated Ariana Grande and Kim Kardashian and overcoming mental health issues. Surprisingly, he also has Jewish roots.
In his new Netflix special, he says of his mother: “She didn’t tell me I was Jewish till I was 25, and that’s because I found out,” adding that he took a 23andMe test and found out he was 50 percent Jewish.
His mom, who is Catholic, raised him Catholic. He says he asked if he was Jewish and she said “yeah,” disappointingly. While according to Jewish law, Judaism is determined by matrilineal descent, many people identify as Jewish if one parent is.
His father, Scott was killed during the 9/11 attacks, and he has spoken about that during other performances, including some I attended.
His current special, “Turbo Fonzarelli,” which takes the last name from Jewish actor Henry Winkler’s character Arthur Fonzarelli from the classic show Happy Days, is impressive and shows off Davidson’s timing, power, and conviction.
It’s good to see that he looks healthy, and I wish him nothing but the best. I laughed several times during the show. What was disappointing, however, is that the goalposts are changing for what is considered to have shock value. Davidson uses bathroom humor way too much, and I could have done without a joke about having sex with one’s mother, or a joke about dying children not wanting him as part of the “Make A Wish” foundation. He has one really inappropriate joke, after which, when the audience voices disapproval, he says he can make the joke because he was molested.
We sadly live in a world where many comedians think the goal is to be jarring rather than funny. It’s possible to do both without going as far as he does in this special.
There is no doubt that Davidson has had emotional trauma, and the fact that he has channeled his emotions into becoming a star comedian is laudable. In a world where many would like to deny they are Jewish, it’s meaningful that Davidson speaks of his lineage at all.
It is also possible that his comedic performances are therapeutic. About five years ago, when on a “Weekend Update” segment he spoke of how he publicly threatened suicide, I was unsure how to feel. It’s not funny, but at least he was talking about it. In a world where many people are not getting the mental health treatment they need, it’s unclear how some watching him would react and if they would be encouraged to get help or not.
In the special, he says rehab is like Cheers because everyone knows his name, and when his stalker was sentenced to a mental health facility, he was scared that he might bump into her. He says he made a “finsta” or fake Instagram account and was jealous to see she was stalking someone else.
At one point, he says he “never wins in life,” but in many ways he has. Davidson was excellent in The King Of Staten Island, the show Bupkis, and in his comedy specials. I understand that sex jokes are par for the course, but he can ease up on them a bit.
Davidson is extremely gifted, and I only wish he added 30 minutes of clean material. I don’t know what my father being murdered by terrorists would do to my psyche. Nor do I know what it would be like to date two of the most famous women in the world, and be followed by cameras. I also don’t know what it’s like to be filthy rich. But I do know when a comedian is funny, and Davidson is. I hope in his next special, he will show off his talent in a more versatile manner that could have the capacity to entertain more people.
The author is a writer based in New York.
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January 11, 2024 at 11:34PM
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Pete Davidson Jokes About Being Jewish in Netflix Special That Is Funny and Vulgar - Algemeiner
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