Jon Stewart Defends Pete Davidson Amid ‘Explosive’ Kanye Drama: He’s ‘Doing As Best You Can’

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“I know Pete [Davison] real well,” Jon Stewart said during the Mar. 22 episode of SiriusXM’s The Howard Stern Show. Jon, 59, and Pete, 28, were recently photographed together at a New York Knicks game, and Stewart dished on his friendship with the Saturday Night Live funnyman. He also gave love to Pete for handling the drama with Kim Kardashian‘s ex-husband, Kanye West. “[Pete’s] just a kid trying to live his life. He’s one of my favorite people. He’s just a f-ckin’ smart, funny kid just trying to live his life, and he’s caught up — I think he’s doing as best he can in that situation, when you’re dealing with something that’s so explosive and loaded with all kinds of other things, and I just love that kid.”

Jon also dished on how he and Pete became friends, first joking because he’s “incredibly hip and with it,” before explaining they met “from comedy, from going on the road. “Dave [Chappelle] and I were doing gigs in Boston and Houston, and Pete came out and performed. And he and [John] Mulaney worked near where I live in Jersey, so I would go buy pizza from a place, and we just go hang out, and we just became friends from that.”

“I always have a very paternal instinct on those guys,” continued Stewart, “because I’ve seen too many of my friends get in trouble and some of them die. And you don’t – you know. It’s a f-cked up business.”

Pete’s business with Kanye, 44, has seemingly died down following the “Eazy” rapper’s recent Instagram ban. Ye was hit with a 24-hour suspension following his racially-loaded social media attacks on Trevor Noah. Ye’s post violated Instagram’s policies pertaining to hate speech, harassment, and bullying. Shortly after the Instagram ban, Ye was pulled from the 2022 Grammy Awards. Ye – who is nominated for five awards this year – was going to deliver a surprise performance, but the show’s producers canceled his appearance over his “concerning online behavior.” As of March 24, Ye has scrubbed his Instagram account of all posts.

Jon Stewart isn’t the only one showing support for Pete Davidson. Kourtney Kardashian’s ex, Scott Disick, recently hung out with Pete for a “Boyz night.” It turns out that Scott and Khloe Kardashian were the ones who pushed Kim, 41, to pursue a romance with Pete after her appearance on SNL. Since then, “Pete has hung out with Scott on numerous occasions,” an insider told HollywoodLife EXCLUSIVELY. Pete and Scott have a “bromance going on.”