Saturday Night Live cold open: Pete Davidson admits life is good

Saturday Night Live‘s cold open featured President Joe Biden blaming the spread of COVID-19 on so many people buying tickets to Spider-Man: No Way Home. However, it wasn’t the only pop culture reference in the opener as SNL’s own Pete Davidson gave a wink and a nod to his personal life.

The cold open helped the January 15 episode get off to a strong start. SNL looked to build momentum out of the winter break — a break that followed a patchwork Christmas episode hosted by Paul Rudd.

James Austin Johnson shined as President Joe Biden, further establishing him as one of Saturday Night Live‘s best impressionists. As Biden, an exasperated Johnson begged the American public to stop going to see Spider-Man as a last-ditch effort to stop the spread.

The cold open took the Marvel references a step further as Biden suggested he was actually one of three Joe Bidens existing in a multiverse. Enter Pete Davidson as Joe Biden from the “real universe.” The “real” Biden revealed that everyone is better off in his universe, save for Pete Davidson. Apparently, our world is much more fun for him.

Saturday Night Live’s Pete Davidson admits life is pretty good

Of course, everyone knows that Pete Davidson has made headlines during SNL’s winter hiatus. His relationship with Kim Kardashian put the comedian back in the tabloids and gossip blogs.

That has, in turn, increased some of the hate directed toward Davidson. But the King of Staten Island star seems to take it all in stride. His joke that his life couldn’t get much better probably annoyed some people. But it showed that Davidson is very much aware of his place in pop culture.

Whether the reference to his dating life was a one-off joke or something he’ll return to as season 47 goes on remains to be seen. It may be that Davidson saw the elephant in the room and wanted to get it out of the way as soon as possible. On the other hand, Davidson hasn’t been shy about getting personal at the “Weekend Update” desk.

We’ll get an answer next week when Will Forte hosts a brand new episode.

What did you think of Pete Davidson’s joke in the cold open? Share your thoughts in the comment section below.