‘SNL’s Lorne Michaels ‘Fears’ That He Will ‘Lose’ Pete Davidson Amid Rising Fame & Kim Kardashian Romance
Pete Davidson has already hosted an NYE special and starred in film ‘The King of Staten Island’ as his career continues to skyrocket — and a source tells HL that ‘SNL’s show runner is afraid he’ll leave.
Pete Davidson, 28, has carved out a niche for himself in the comedy space — but he’s become a bigger name in the entertainment world thanks to his romance with Kim Kardashian, 41. As Pete hits the next level of fame, however, SNL‘s longtime show runner Lorne Michaels is afraid that the young comedian will leave the cast to pursue other opportunities.
“He’d love to have him for years to come and especially the upcoming 50th anniversary of the show,” a source EXCLUSIVELY told HollywoodLife, referencing the series’ major milestone coming up in 2025. “He fears mostly that he will lose him but he is going to do all that he can think of to keep him around. Convincing Pete to stay though might be tougher than expected though,” they added.
Pete joined the sketch series back in 2014 when he was just 20-years-old — making him the youngest cast member ever. Two years in, the Staten Island native developed the recurring character of Chad, as well as showcased his comedic abilities in a slew of digital short music sketches. He initially met Kim on the set of the series, too: the pair have been inseparable since the SKIMS founder hosted Saturday Night Live back in October, and shared an on-screen kiss as Princess Jasmine and Aladdin in a hilarious Disney spoof.
“Lorne really would love nothing more than to have Pete stay on the show forever if he wanted,” the insider also told HL.
“He would love Pete to take the same path as Keenan [Thompson] and be able to do the show and do other things that interest him but Lorne is not stupid, he sees Pete’s meteoric rise happening by dating Kim and being rumored to go to space, getting Super Bowl commercials and tons of other offers for movies and TV, so he feels he is on borrowed time when it comes to Pete remaining on SNL after this season,” they spilled.
This past year, Pete headlined his own Super Bowl ad with Hellman’s Mayo with the Patriots’ Jared Mayo — putting him in front of TV’s largest live audience. Beyond that, the 28-year-old co-hosted an NBC New Year’s Eve special with pal Miley Cyrus, dubbed Miley’s New Years’ Eve Party in Miami, FL. Pete has also already starred in his own film, The King of Staten Island. Beyond his work, Pete has been front and center in media headlines thanks to his romance with Kim — which even included a recent dinner with Amazon founder Jeff Bezos where they reportedly talked about going to space.
While Kim’s fans have been supportive of her moving on amid her difficult divorce from Kanye West, 44. Notably, the rapper has made his stance on Pete public through his on-going social media attacks aimed at the comedian. In a recent music video for song “Eazy,” Kanye buried an animated version of Pete alive. While the SNL cast member has yet to respond publicly, he reportedly thought the graphic video was “hilarious.”
“The one saving grace Lorne is hoping for is that Pete loves being close to home and just like what he did with Kate this year, he is willing to allow Pete come in and out when he pleases to keep him around,” our source also spilled, referencing Kate McKinnon‘s hiatus to film a Tiger King scripted series for NBC.