The release of Turbo Fonzarelli, Pete Davidson’s new comedy special, brought with it some surprising news (per Business Insider). Pete Davidson has long since had a public perception of being a party boy, according to his previous bits — despite this, however, crowds were still shocked to find out that he was high at Aretha Franklin’s funeral in 2018.
Here’s what we know.
What was Pete Davidson high off of?
Pete Davidson revealed the details of the tale just a few minutes into his most recently published stand-up routine, per Business Insider.
“I was on a magical drug for the last two-and-a-half, three years called ketamine,” Pete quips to the audience. “It was amazing. What a time!”
The audience laughs, applauding the comedian for his honesty. Then, he follows his story back around to tee up the details: “It’s embarrassing when you’re not ketamine anymore. I’m embarrassed. I was out and about like that. That’s not cool, you know?”
The audience doesn’t seem to register before he concludes: “That’s f***ed up, right? I was at Aretha Franklin’s funeral like that…she’ll never know, but still, that’s not the point.
Who was with Pete Davidson at the time of this incident?
While there were many noteworthy names in attendance at the star’s funeral, several outlets have confirmed that Ariana Grande was in attendance with Pete — and had even been photographed by Getty Images standing next to him during the viewing portion of the service.
Ariana Grande was requested to perform at Aretha’s service, per Business Insider, which is why she formally attended. She sang “A Natural Woman” for the attendees, performing in a svelte black mini-dress and sky-high heels. She was engaged to Pete Davidson at the time of the incident. Business Insider notes that this could be why he was in attendance, as he was primarily known as a Saturday Night Live performer at the time.
What caused Aretha Franklin’s death?
Per Business Insider, Aretha Franklin died as a result of advanced pancreatic cancer. She was known to many as the “Queen of Soul,” and lived until she was 76 years of age.
Was Pete Davidson remorseful about his state at Aretha Franklin’s funeral?
Pete Davidson seemed to be somewhat remorseful about his actions at the funeral, stating in Turbo Fonzarelli that “I (he) (has) to live with that. You know what I mean?” he asked the audience in rhetoric.
In his next few moments, he mentioned what he thought Aretha would think about the ordeal. “If she was there, she’d probably be like, ‘Hey! Who are you and what the f*** are you doing at my funeral?” he laughed.
It doesn’t seem like the moment ended there, however. He went on to admit that he was “so high, (he) thought it was a good idea to say to her family, ‘Hey, (I’m) just here to pay my R-E-S-P-E-C-Ts,’” per Business Insider.
