Pete Davidson hosted the Season 49 premiere of “Saturday Night Live” with a somber tribute to the littlest victims of the war in Israel — and blink-or-you’ll-miss-them cameos from tabloid darlings Travis Kelce and Taylor Swift.
The “SNL” alum prefaced his cold opening by saying the tragic slayings of Israeli and Palestinian civilians reminded him of a “really horrible, horrible” time in his own life — when his own FDNY father was killed in the Sept. 11 attacks.
“I don’t understand it. I really don’t and I never will. But sometimes comedy is really the only way forward through tragedy,” Davidson, 29, said.
“My heart is with everyone whose lives have been destroyed this week. But tonight, I’m gonna do what I’ve always done in the face of tragedy, and that’s try to be fun.
“Remember, I said try.”
Davidson — who was a cast member on “SNL” for eight seasons from 2014 to 2022 — had reportedly been workshopping his monologue on Big Apple crowds all week and was heavily debating whether to touch on the sudden terrorist attack.
The Staten Island funnyman was first scheduled to make his hosting debut on May 6 before it went on hiatus due to the Writers Guild of America strike.
In a complete pivot, Davidson then launched into a brief set poking fun at the idea of an incestuous relationship with his sister.
The comedian — a self-described drug addict — said he was trying to find common ground with his brain surgeon assistant sister by watching “Game of Thrones” together, until he realized she wasn’t thrown off by the various sexual relationships between family members on the smash HBO show.
That’s when Davidson put out “feelers:” “Am I going to bang this chick?” he said before joking that he was too insecure to go through with it — a jab at his storied dating history with multiple glamourous celebrities like Ariana Grande and Kim Kardashian.
Davidson continued the pervy jokes as he turned toward his Staten Island roots.
“It’s the only island in the world with a worse reputation than (Jeffrey) Epstein’s somehow,” Davidson said. “It’s that island with the kids molesting priests!”
Chiefs tight end and Taylor Swift beau Travis Kelce made a brief, surprise appearance in the show’s cold open as the fictitious Fox “NFL Sunday” panel delved into chaos over the couple’s ongoing relationship troubles.
The secret Swifty football analysts struggled to stay on topic as they argued over who is the biggest Swift fan, prompting Kenan Thompson to call on the only person who wants to focus on the sport.
“Yes, please!” Kelce shouted.
Throughout his sketches on the show, Davidson mocked his ongoing struggles with drug addiction, which culminated in a rehab stint in June.
The comedian succinctly told his storied journey in a parody of the “Barbie” movie’s smash song “I’m Just Ken,” taking care to mention that he looks like a meth addict on the street.
The prerecorded skit — shot on a perfectly replicated movie set — ended with Davidson crashing Barbie’s car with the doll in the front seat into her mansion, mimicking the March accident in which he slammed his Mercedes into a Beverly Hills home with then-girlfriend Chase Sui Wonders riding shotgun.
Musical guest Ice Spice performed her hit “In Ha Mood” on a bare-bones stage accompanied by just two dancers.
Clad in denim short-shorts and calf-high boots, the 23-year-old Bronx native performed her signature twerking move across the stage.
She and her dancers returned to the stage later along with Nigerian rapper Rema to perform their song “Pretty Girl” — introduced by none other than Swift herself.
In the famed “Weekend Update” segment, Michael Che took consecutive jabs at lying Long Island Congressman George Santos — who was recently charged with stealing donor IDs, racking up charges on their credit cards in a new indictment.
“He was also indicted for reckless homicide when that button shot off his jacket and killed a bystander,” Che said, referring to how the embattled pol’s blazer was splayed open.
Santos wasn’t the only politician who caught the team’s ire — co-host Colin Jost likened next House Speaker Jim Jordan to the character of Anger from the Pixar movie “Inside Out.”
Jost also took aim at the Republican’s ongoing battle to ban books from public libraries that they deem promiscuous after the Public Library Alabama flagged a title because the author’s name was “Gay.”
“Though to be fair, the book is titled “Gay Porn for Kids,” the funnyman kidded. (The true title is “Read Me a Story, Stella” by Mary-Louise Gay.)
Surprisingly, Davidson did not join the co-hosts behind the desk, where he has appeared various times throughout his time as a cast member.
Davidson’s personal life has made several headlines since audiences last saw him on the NBC variety show.
The “Dumb Money” actor famously dated Kim Kardashian, 42, for nine months, then his “Bodies Bodies Bodies” co-star Chase Sui Wonders, 27, who was sitting shotgun when he crashed a car into a Beverly Hills home in March.
No one was seriously injured as a result of the crash. Davidson was believed to be driving at a “high rate of speed” and was charged with reckless driving.
In June, Davidson also checked himself into the same Pennsylvania rehab facility where his close friend John Mulaney, 41, sought help for alcohol and drug issues.
Davidson was reportedly struggling with borderline personality disorder and PTSD.
He seemingly checked out in mid-September.
He and Wonders called it quits in August, and now the BDE-clad funnyman is reportedly dating “Outer Banks” star Madelyn Cline, 25.
In September, he also left PETA an explicit voicemail after the animal rights group publicly shaded him for buying a dog instead of opting to adopt.
Davidson is currently touring his solo stand-up comedy act across the US. He is slated to headline at Red Bank’s Hackensack Meridian Health Theatre on Nov. 18 — two days after his 30th birthday.
