Pete Davidson Admits to Making a Costly Mistake While High
The comedian, 29, has confessed to having major regrets about buying a decommissioned Staten Island ferry while under the influence with his former Saturday Night Live co-star Colin Jost, 41.
In an interview with Entertainment Tonight on Monday, Pete provided an update on the pair’s January 2022 splurge. “I have no idea what’s going on with that thing,” he said at the Transformers: Rise of the Beasts premiere in New York. “Me and Colin were very stoned a year ago and bought a ferry. And we’re figuring it out.”
Comedians Pete Davidson, 28, (left) and Colin Jost, 40, (right) bought the retired Staten Island ferry in the hopes of turning it into a floating night club
Pete joked that he would host an after-party for his latest film on the bright orange boat, “if it’s not sunk!” He quipped, “Hopefully it turns into a Transformer and gets the f— out of there, so I can stop paying for it!”
Pete and Colin, along with comedy club owner Paul Italia, bought the ferry when it was auctioned off by New York City’s Department of Citywide Administrative Services. The ferry, named the John F. Kennedy, took commuters between Manhattan and Staten Island from 1965 until 2021.
At the time of their purchase, the comedians said the plan was to turn the 277-foot vessel into a New York City club. However, those plans quickly encountered obstacles when the ferry’s former captain, Kevin Hennessey, told the New York Daily News it would likely cost Pete and Colin millions to renovate the ferry.
Jost and Davidson bought the ferry – the MV John F. Kennedy – with comedy club owner Paul Italia last year for $280,000
Hennessey said the boat’s engine was also compromised by a fire that broke out in the machine room just after the ferry was decommissioned and before the comedians purchased it. He added that the toxic asbestos lining the walls of the ferry would be one of the biggest complications the ferry project would face.
Ferry workers told the Daily News that they estimated renovations could be in the millions, and that Pete and Colin had a good idea but were out of their depth. “I wish these guys luck with the project, but they’re going to need some help,” Hennessey said.
Italia called Hennessey’s assessment of the ferry’s state “garbage information,” and said plans for the ferry’s future would be announced by year’s end.
Pete Davidson and Colin Jost’s ferry fiasco serves as a reminder that even the best-laid plans can go awry, especially when made under the influence.