‘Apology Accepted’: ‘SNL’ Brings on Vet That Show Mocked for Veterans Day Message

November 11th, 2018 12:21 PM

Last week, NBC’s Saturday Night Live united the left and right in outrage when they targeted former Navy SEAL and now Congressman-elect Dan Crenshaw for ridicule regarding his missing right eye, which he lost in an IED blast. But during this weekend’s show, they invited Crenshaw on to bury the hatchet and to deliver a very important Veterans Day message.

At the end of SNL’s faux news skit “Weekend Update”, co-host Colin Jost brought on comedian Pete Davidson to talk about his attacks last week. “In what I'm sure was a huge shock for people who know me, I made a poor choice last week … I made a joke about Lieutenant Commander Dan Crenshaw, and on behalf of the show and myself, I apologize,” he said.

“I mean this from the bottom of my heart. It was a poor choice of words. The man is a war hero and he deserves all of the respect in the world,” he continued. “And if any good came of this, maybe it was that for one day the left and the right finally came together to agree on something: that I'm a dick.”

“You think,” Crenshaw asked as he came out onto the set. After Davison respectfully explained how Crenshaw lost his eye, the Congressman-elect accepted the apology. The SNL guest then returned the favor and began goofing on his host’s looks as part of the skit. “He looks like Martin Short in The Santa Claus 3. By the way, one of these people was actually good on SNL,” Crenshaw joked.

 

 

After spending a little bit of time ragging on Davidson, Crenshaw wanted to talk about the “lessons to learn here”. “Not just that the left and the right can still agree on some things, but also this, Americans can forgive one another. We can remember what brings us together as a country and still see the good in each other,” he said.

And since it was Veterans Day weekend, Crenshaw wanted to share a special message with viewers urging them to thank veterans.

“This is Veterans Day weekend, which means that it's a good time for every American to connect with a veteran. Maybe say, ‘Thanks for your service,’” he suggested. “But I would actually encourage you to say something else. Tell a veteran ‘never forget’.”

Crenshaw went on to explain the deep meaning behind those words:

When you say ‘never forget’ to a veteran you are implying that as an American, you are in it with them, not separated by some imaginary barrier between civilians and veterans, but connected together as grateful fellow Americans. We'll never forget the sacrifices made by veterans past and present.

In a show of great class, Crenshaw invoked the memory of Davidson’s father who was a New York City firefighter in 2001. “And never forget those we lost on 9/11. Heroes like Pete's father. So I'll just say, Pete, never forget,” he declared. “Never forget,” Davidson echoed.

Never forget.

The transcript is below, click "expand" to read:

NBC’s Saturday Night Live
November 11, 2018
12:24:03 a.m. Eastern

COLIN JOST: Well, last week Pete Davidson did a feature here on "Weekend Update" that caused some controversy. Here to set the record straight is Pete Davidson.

PETE DAVIDSON: Hey, everybody! Hey. In what I'm sure was a huge shock for people who know me, I made a poor choice last week. No, I did. I made a joke about Lieutenant Commander Dan Crenshaw, and on behalf of the show and myself, I apologize. My poor mom.

JOST: Poor mom?

DAVIDSON: Can you imagine being my mom? That must suck. Can you imagine being Pete Davidson's mom? It can’t be easy when everybody's mad at your son and roommate? No, but I mean this from the bottom of my heart. It was a poor choice of words. The man is a war hero and he deserves all of the respect in the world. And if any good came of this, maybe it was that for one day the left and the right finally came together to agree on something: that I'm a dick.

DAN CRENSHAW: You think?

DAVIDSON: Lieutenant commander David Crenshaw, everyone. Thank you so much for coming.

CRENSHAW: Thanks for making a Republican look good.

DAVIDSON: Stop saying that, man. He's been saying it all day. Please. Look, I just wanted to say for people that don't know, the reason you're wearing an eye patch right now is that you lost your eye to an IED in Afghanistan during your third combat tour, and I'm sorry.

CRENSHAW: Thank you, Pete, appreciate you saying that. So are we good?

DAVIDSON: So, we're good?

CRENSHAW: We’re good. Apology accepted. [Ariana Grande ringtone] Sounds like my phone is ringing.

DAVIDSON: Are you going to answer that?

CRENSHAW: No, man, I'm just going to let it ring, because it’s rude to answer. Let it go to voicemail.

DAVIDSHAW: That's cool, Ariana --

CRENSHAW: Oh, do you know her?

DAVIDSON: All right. So that was funny. All right. Last week I made a joke about a picture of you, and I feel like it would only be fair if you got me back and made fun of a picture of me. Does that sound okay?

CRENSHAW: I don't really need to do that.

DAVIDSON: Oh, come on. I deserve it, please.

CRENSHAW: All right.

JOST: And now, first impressions with Lieutenant Commander Dan Crenshaw.

CRENSHAW: Thanks, Colin. This is Pete Davidson. He looks like if the meth from Breaking Bad was a person.

DAVIDSON: All right. Not bad. So there, we're even.

CRENSHAW: Hold on. One more. This is good.

DAVIDSON: All right.

CRENSHAW: He looks like a troll doll with a tapeworm.

DAVIDSON: Yeah, man. That's good. We should wrap this up.

CRENSHAW: No, this is fun.

DAVIDSON: Cool.

CRENSHAW: He looks like Martin Short in The Santa Claus 3. By the way, one of these people was actually good on SNL.

DAVIDSON: You're right. You're not wrong.

CRENSHAW: But seriously, there's a lot of lessons to learn here. Not just that the left and the right can still agree on some things, but also this, Americans can forgive one another. We can remember what brings us together as a country and still see the good in each other. This is Veterans Day weekend, which means that it's a good time for every American to connect with a veteran. Maybe say, “Thanks for your service”. But I would actually encourage you to say something else. Tell a veteran “never forget”. When you say “never forget” to a veteran you are implying that as an American, you are in it with them, not separated by some imaginary barrier between civilians and veterans, but connected together as grateful fellow Americans. We'll never forget the sacrifices made by veterans past and present. And never forget those we lost on 9/11. Heroes like Pete's father. So I'll just say, Pete, never forget.

DAVIDSON: Never forget. And that is from both of us!

JOST: You did it! Lieutenant Dan Crenshaw and Pete Davidson, everyone. For "Weekend Update," I'm Colin Jost.