Pete Davidson has expressed regret for attending Aretha Franklin’s 2018 funeral while being “so high” on ketamine.
In his new Netflix special, Turbo Fonzarelli, the comedian revealed that he was on ketamine for “two-and-half, three years” before admitting he often went to funerals while high. This included Franklin’s funeral, which he attended with then-fiancée Ariana Grande.
“It’s embarrassing when you’re not on ketamine anymore, though… I’m embarrassed,” Davidson said (via The Independent). “I was out and about like that. That’s not cool, you know? I was at funerals like that. That’s fucked up, right? I was at Aretha Franklin’s funeral like that. Yeah, I have to live with that. You know what I mean? She’ll never know, but still, that’s not the point.”
The SNL alum continued by recalling how he made a terrible attempt at a joke to Franklin’s family at the funeral: “I’m so high, I thought it would be a good idea to go up to her family and go, ‘Hey, I’m just here to pay my R-E-S-P-E-C-T… S.’”
It’s worth noting ketamine is more than a recreational drug and is also used as a treatment for depression. Davidson has long been open about his struggles with borderline personality disorder.
Turbo Fonzarelli marks Davidson’s second Netflix comedy special after 2020’s Alive from New York. Last year, he starred in the semi-autobiographical Peacock series Bupkis and returned to Saturday Night Live as a host.