Pete Davidson asked “SNL” boss Lorne Michaels to fire him: 'I don't belong here'

Former Saturday Night Live cast member Pete Davidson admits he suffered from major imposter syndrome during his early days at the legendary sketch show, so much so that he even asked boss Lorne Michaels to give him the ax.

"After my first year, I actually called for a meeting with Lorne. I was like, 'Please fire me,'" Davidson, who joined the cast for season 40 in 2014, recalled in the first episode of the new Peacock docuseries SNL50: Beyond Saturday Night.

"I was like, 'I don't belong here. Everybody here is so talented and they don't want to be my friend,'" he shared. "I was a child. I was like, 'Nobody wants to be my friend.'"

Related: Every Saturday Night Live season 50 host and musical guest

Thankfully, the show creator had more faith in SNL's "Resident Young Person" than Davidson himself. The King of Staten Island star remembered Michaels reassuring him that "you don't figure it out until your third or fourth year" and "it's just gonna suck for like three or four years."

"He was right," admitted Davidson, who ended up staying at the show for eight seasons.

Debuting on SNL just two months shy of his 21st birthday, Davidson remains the show's fourth-youngest cast member ever, behind Anthony Michael Hall (17), Eddie Murphy (19), and Robert Downey Jr. (20).

"I grew up here. I was like a kid when I came in," the Bupkis star, now 31, reflected in the docuseries. "I'll always be proud, I'll always be grateful, and I'll always miss it." 

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SNL was "a really tough job," Davidson said. "You go through all the emotions with these people, but you all love each other at the end of the day. This is a really difficult place to leave, but you don't ever really truly leave."

Indeed, after signing off in the season 47 finale in 2022, Davidson was scheduled to return as a host the very next season. That plan was postponed due to the Hollywood writers' strike, and he returned to host the season 49 premiere instead. Last November, he returned again for a cameo during pal John Mulaney's latest musical sketch, and he's presumably on the guest list for the show's official 50th anniversary special next month.

Related: Will Ferrell recalls messing up his very first SNL line: 'I flub it!'

Davidson, who has been candid about his substance abuse and mental health struggles over the years, recently shared that he has intentionally retreated from the public eye a bit due to frequent media frenzies over his high-profile relationships with celebs like Ariana Grande, Kim Kardashian, and Bridgerton's Phoebe Dynevor.

"I just want to be known for doing good work," he told W Magazine last month. "I want to be out there only when it's a movie, stand-up, charity, or business ventures. That’s when I want to be seen. I don’t want to be this f---ing loser who just dates people. That's not who I am."

All four episodes of SNL50: Beyond Saturday Night are streaming on Peacock now. Saturday Night Live returns with host Dave Chappelle this Saturday at 11:30 p.m. ET/8:30 p.m. PT on NBC.

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