Rep.-elect Dan Crenshaw, R-Texas, showed up on “Saturday Night Live” in a conciliatory segment where cast member Pete Davidson apologized for mocking his appearance last week.
Davidson started the segment on “Weekend Update” by expressing regret for his comments last week.
“In what I’m sure was a huge shock for people who know me, I made a poor choice last week,” Davidson said. “I made a joke about Lt. Cmdr. Dan Crenshaw, and on behalf of the show and myself, I apologize.”
“I mean this from the bottom of my heart. It was a poor choice of words,” he added after discussing how his “poor mom” was feeling amid the controversy. “The man is a war hero and he deserves all of the respect in the world. And if any good came of this, maybe it was that for one day the Left and the Right finally came together to agree on something: that I’m a dick.”
[New: After ‘SNL’ joke, former Navy SEAL Dan Crenshaw says ‘stop looking for reasons to be offended’]
When Crenshaw made his surprise appearance, Davidson apologized again. Crenshaw said he accepted Davidson’s apology before taking some comedic jabs at Davidson, including showing off his Ariana Grande ringtone (Davidson and Grande, a pop star, recently called off an engagement) and making some jokes about Davidson’s appearance.
Crenshaw, a former Navy SEAL, then delivered a passionate message about veterans as Veterans Day is Sunday, saying, “There’s a lot of lessons to learn here. Not just that the left and the right can still agree on some things, but also this, Americans can forgive one another. We can remember what brings us together as a country and still see the good in each other.”
Crenshaw went on urge Americans to say “never forget” to a veteran in order to break the “imaginary barrier” between civilians and veterans.
He also recognized that Davidson’s father, a New York City firefighter who died during the Sept. 11 attacks, was among America’s “heroes.”
Davidson stirred controversy last week when he mocked Crenshaw, who wears an eye-patch after losing an eye from an IED blast while serving in Afghanistan, saying, “You may be surprised to hear he’s a congressional candidate for Texas and not a hit man in a porno movie.”
He added: “I’m sorry. I know he lost his eye in war — or whatever.”
During that “Weekend Update” segment Davidson was offering his thoughts on candidates ahead of the 2018 midterm elections, and teased politicians on both sides of the aisle. But it was his mockery of Crenshaw that caused widespread backlash.
For instance, Republican National Committee Chairwoman Ronna McDaniel said, “Dan Crenshaw served 10 years as a Navy SEAL. He received two Bronze Stars, a Purple Heart, and the Navy Commendation Medal with Valor. NBC owes him an apology.” She also shared a fundraising link to support Crenshaw’s campaign.
Crenshaw responded to the controversy, tweeting, “Good rule in life: I try hard not to offend; I try harder not to be offended. That being said, I hope @nbcsnl recognizes that vets don’t deserve to see their wounds used as punchlines for bad jokes.” He also called for “SNL” to donate to veterans.
Crenshaw handily won Tuesday’s contest against Democrat Todd Litton in Texas’ 2nd Congressional District election by about 7.7 percentage points.
