Jon Stewart is showing his support for Pete Davidson amid the ongoing drama with Kanye West.
During an appearance on Howard Stern‘s SiriusXM radio show, Stewart opened up about the 28-year-old Saturday Night Live comedian and how he has handled the feud with West, 44, which unfolded after the Donda artist’s split from Kim Kardashian.
“I know Pete real well. He’s just a kid trying to live his life. [He’s] one of my favorite people,” Stewart, 59, said on Tuesday’s episode. “He’s just a smart, funny, kid, trying to live his life.”
Stewart added, “I think he’s doing as best you can in that situation when you’re dealing with something that’s so explosive and loaded, with all kinds of other things. I just love that kid.”
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Scott Kowalchyk/CBS via Getty; ANGELA WEISS/AFP via Getty Jon Stewart (left) and Pete Davidson
During his conversation with Stern, Stewart also revealed that he has developed a “very paternal instinct” when it comes to Davidson and their friendship.
“He and I know each other from comedy, from going on the road,” he explained. “Dave [Chappelle] and I were doing gigs in Boston and Houston, and Pete came out and performed. And him 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 because I’ve seen too many of my friends get in trouble and some of them die, and you don’t [want that],” he noted. “It’s a f—ed up business.”
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Kardashian, 41, filed for divorce from West in February 2021 after seven years of marriage. She and the Donda rapper share four children: daughters North, 8, and Chicago, 4, and sons Saint, 6, and Psalm, 2½.
The mom of four made her relationship with Davidson Instagram official on March 11, more than a week after the SKIMS mogul was declared legally single amid her divorce from West. She and Davidson first made headlines in October 2021 after sharing a kiss during a sketch on SNL when Kardashian made her hosting debut.
After taking their romance public, West began speaking out against his estranged wife and her new boyfriend. Earlier this month, the rapper stirred up some controversy over a music video for his song, “Eazy”, featuring fellow rapper The Game that appeared to show Davidson kidnapped, tied up, and buried alive by West.
A source later told PEOPLE that Kardashian was “furious” over the music video and she thought it was “way too violent.”
Davidson allegedly addressed the matter with West, asking the rapper to talk in person over a text exchange that was shared publicly by Davidson’s friend Dave Sirus. “What she does for those kids is amazing and you’re f—— lucky that she’s your kids’ mom,” Davidson wrote in the alleged exchange.
In the alleged texts, Davidson also claimed that he has “stopped SNL” from mocking West on the show “for months.”
Getty (3) Kim Kardashian; Pete Davidson; Kanye West
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Stewart is the latest comedian to voice his support for Davidson amid the drama with West. Davidson’s SNL costars, Bowen Yang and Chris Redd, also recently spoke out on his behalf.
“We are supporting him by giving him space,” Yang, 31, told Entertainment Tonight at the Critics Choice Awards. “I think he’s just, you know, figuring it out, because I think a lot is out of his control, in terms of people’s responses. I think he’s just getting back to his comfort and I think that is the best thing he can do. We are all thinking about him, and we love him so much.”
Redd — who grew up in Chicago, like West, and has previously impersonated the rapper on SNL — also said that he’s been mindful of the drama and won’t “stir the pot on something that’s just unhealthy.”
“When it comes to Ye, I’m always of the mind that I’ll make fun,” Redd, 36, explained on an episode of SiriusXM’s The Jess Cagle Show. “I was raised joking… but at the same time, there is a serious layer to that situation that I just won’t make fun of. I’m not making fun of his mental health. You know, I have my mental health issues myself, so I’m very aware of those things.”
“I think Pete’s handling it well and you know, he’s starting to talk again, and he is handling that well,” he continued. “It’s just better not to like put your friend in a weird situation by antagonizing a situation more than you need to.”
