Pete Davidson Unveils 'Embarrassing' Joke He Told Aretha Franklin's Family While High at Her Funeral
NEW YORK, NEW YORK - MAY 01: Pete Davidson attends The 2023 Met Gala Celebrating "Karl Lagerfeld: A Line Of Beauty" at The Metropolitan Museum of Art on May 01, 2023 in New York City. (Photo by Jamie McCarthy/Getty Images)
Pete Davidson has shared some “embarrassing” snapshots of times he spent while high in recent years, including one moment from Aretha Franklin’s funeral.
The Saturday Night Live alum took his audience for a stroll down memory lane as part of his new comedy special Pete Davidson: Turbo Fonzarelli, which Netflix released on Tuesday, Jan. 9. The comedian opened the special by reflecting on his latest birthday—he turned 30 last November—and said entering a new decade of his life meant that he “had to stop doing hard drugs” because “you can’t be a drug addict in your 30s.”
But for about two or three years, Davidson said he had been taking ketamine, a drug he described as “magical.” Looking back, Davidson said it is “embarrassing when you’re not on ketamine anymore” and have to confront the things he did and said while taking the drug.
Davidson recalled attending Franklin’s funeral while high on ketamine. Franklin, who died in mid-August 2018, was laid to rest later that month in Detroit, Mich.
Davidson told his audience Franklin probably would have wondered why he was at her funeral if she could’ve seen him there. He went on to share an “embarrassing” joke that he made to her family while at the service. The comment referenced “Respect,” one of the most popular songs ever recorded by the woman remembered as the “Queen of Soul.”
“It’s embarrassing,” Davidson recalled. “I was so high, I thought it’d 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-Ts.’”
Franklin, an 18-time Grammy Awards winner, won two of those trophies for her 1967 recording of “Respect.” The song’s title was later used for the biopic released in 2021 that starred Jennifer Hudson as Franklin.
Davidson has been candid about his drug use in recent years. During a September 2023 show in New Jersey, Davidson opened up about his stint in rehab last summer and the years he spent taking ketamine, according to People. He continued to reflect on his struggles with drugs as part of his new comedy special.
