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Pete Davidson admits he was high on ketamine during Aretha Franklin’s 2018 funeral in Detroit

The comedian told the story during his new Netflix stand-up special

Pete Davidson attends The 2022 Met Gala on May 02, 2022 in New York City. (Photo by Dimitrios Kambouris/Getty Images for The Met Museum/Vogue) (Dimitrios Kambouris, 2022 Getty Images)

Pete Davidson made some pretty wild admissions during his new Netflix comedy special that was recently released.

The 30-year-old comedian admitted during the special that while he was attending Aretha Franklin’s 2018 funeral, he was high on the drug ketamine during the service, which took place at Detroit’s Greater Grace Temple Church.

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If you remember, Davidson was dating Ariana Grande during the time, and Grande performed at the late Queen of Soul’s funeral. He attended the funeral with Grande.

“It’s embarrassing when you’re not on ketamine anymore, though… I’m embarrassed. I was out and about like that. That’s not cool, you know?” Davidson said during the special. “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.”

He then went on to say that he even tried making a joke while speaking with Franklin’s family, saying, “It’s embarrassing. 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’.”

While the joke is funny out of context, that’s the last thing anyone should be saying at Franklin’s funeral, let alone to her family. Yikes!

Why on Earth would Davidson ever admit that to the public is beyond me. I’m pretty sure that we all collectively forgot that he was even in attendance at Franklin’s funeral, so why remind us about it, and admit that you were high on drugs and making incredibly out-of-line jokes?

The good news is that Davidson has been to rehab and no longer takes ketamine, a drug that brings on hallucinogenic effects. Maybe telling the story of a truly embarrassing moment like this on such a public stage is a way for him to heal on his journey, but still, that’s quite a thing to admit when literally no one was asking.

Franklin’s funeral was broadcast live on television, and there were multiple times that Davidson and Grande were shown together inside the church during the service.

I also just have a million follow-up questions now. Could Franklin’s family tell he was on drugs? Did they laugh at his joke? Did Grande know he was on drugs? Is this why they broke up? Why did he even attend the funeral in the first place?

Davidson’s new Netflix special is called “Turbo Fonzarelli” and you can stream it now on the app.


About the Author
Jack Roskopp headshot

Jack is a Digital Content Editor with a degree in creative writing and French from Western Michigan University. He specializes in writing about movies, food and the latest TV shows.

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