Pete Davidson briefly appeared on the Dec. 15 episode of NBC’s Saturday Night Live in the wake of posting a disturbing message Saturday on Instagram. The castmember deleted his Instagram account after he wrote that he doesn’t “want to be on this Earth anymore.” Davidson introduced musical guest Miley Cyrus before her second performance near the end of Saturday night’s episode of the sketch comedy show.
“I really don’t want to be on this Earth anymore. I’m doing my best to stay here for you but i actually don’t know how much longer i can last. all i’ve ever tried to do was help people,” the caption read in his post earlier on Saturday.
Following the Instagram message, New York police told The Hollywood Reporter: “We are aware of the post and we are conducting an investigation and welfare check.” At 3:45 p.m. PT, police told THR they had made contact with Davidson and he was “safe,” referring all further questions to NBC.
The SNL castmember has often been open about his struggles with mental health, and the Instagram post came after he had posted in support of singer Kanye West and the rapper’s previous words about mental illness. “Bravo Kanye West for standing up for yourself and speaking out against mental health,” Davidson wrote. “I can’t explain to you enough how difficult and scary it is to be honest about stuff like this. We need people like Kanye. No one should ever point fingers at you for your bravery in speaking about mental health. I’m seriously disgusted.”
Pop star Ariana Grande, who was briefly engaged to Davidson earlier this year, tweeted an apology on Saturday that she had joked about West’s tweets days earlier. “man i’m so sorry i told a dumb joke. i really didn’t mean any harm. all i want everyone to be healthy and happy. so desperately. please. my god,” she wrote. The tweet has since been deleted.
Davidson, per usual, was included in the opening credits of SNL, as well as a pre-recorded sketch about the Oscars. While he did make a quick appearance live on the show, the issues surrounding his mental health and social media were not addressed.
