Featured Image Credit: Dimitrios Kambouris/Getty Images / NBC
Topics: Pete Davidson, Saturday Night Live, Film and TV, Celebrity, Money
Emily Brown
Topics: Pete Davidson, Saturday Night Live, Film and TV, Celebrity, Money
Pete Davidson sparked debate online after revealing how much he got paid per episode for his work on Saturday Night Live.
SNL is definitely up there as one of the most iconic shows in the United States, with huge Hollywood celebrities regularly appearing as guest hosts and a full roster of comedians ready to show off their skills at any moment.
Davidson is one of the many big names to have worked on the show over the years, and in a recent chat with New York Magazine he and some of his fellow stars discussed what they splashed out on after receiving pay checks from the show.
Advert
Cheri Oteri, who worked as an SNL cast member from 1995 to 2000, recalled buying a couch, while Julia Louis-Dreyfus remembered buying a pair of shoes that were 'out of [her] budget'.
She added: “I’ve got to tell you, I think they were $75.”
This revelation might surprise you, as $75 might not seem too unreasonable for someone who's on TV, but Davidson's response to the question offered further insight on the Saturday Night Live salary.
In the video, he said: "Do you guys know what they pay us? It’s like three grand an episode, so I think I got dinner!”
Since $3,000 for a week's work actually seems very generous, Davidson's response prompted mixed responses from viewers.
Discussing the video on Reddit, one person wrote: "Yeah 3k a week in NYC isn’t bad by any stretch but it’s not exactly living it up in luxury either."
However, another user responded to point out that cast members don't always have a weekly episode, and others pointed out they'd have also been putting up with the high costs that come with living in or near New York.
"Managers & agents take a cut. Taxes take a cut," one person wrote, as another added: "They only do like 20 episodes a year."
These were a point backed by another former cast member, Jason Sudeikis, who explained: “I mean you don’t really make enough money to make big purchases. So, I think New York rent was probably the biggest purchase I made after writing on SNL the first year.”
That being said, there were some members of the show who decided to splash the cash on some more luxurious items, with Sarah Silverman admitting she bought a $300 cashmere sweater with her paycheck, while Bowen Yang treated himself to some Gucci shoes.
Davidson first joined SNL in 2014, and took part in sketches such as 'Chad' and 'Jasmine and Aladdin' before he left in 2022.