SNL: Pete Davidson receives mixed reactions for joke about politician who lost eye in Afghanistan IED blast

The comedian compared former Navy SEAL Dan Crenshaw, a congressional candidate from Texas, to 'a hit man in a porno movie'

Pete Davidson has been criticised for a risqué joke made on Saturday Night Live making fun of a Republican politician who lost an eye in Afghanistan during an IED blast.

The 24-year-old cast member brought up Dan Crenshaw, a former Navy SEAL running for congress in Texas, during a Weekend Update segment about the midterms.

"This guy's kind of cool, uh, Dan Crenshaw," he said as a photo of Crenshaw appeared next to him.

Crenshaw, who served as a Navy SEAL from 2006 to 2016, was injured during an IED blast in Afghanistan's Helmand province back in 2012. His right eye was destroyed in the blow, which is why Crenshaw now wears an eye patch.

Davidson's cast mate Michael Che seemingly tried to deflect the comedian's joke, telling him: "Come on, man," but Davidson continued with a smile on his face. "You may be surprised to hear he's a congressional candidate from Texas and not a hit man in a porno movie," he added.

The joke drew laughter from the crowd and even a few claps. "I'm sorry," Davidson said. "I know he lost his eye in war or whatever."

In order to "look fair", Davidson then poked fun at Democrat Andrew Cuomo, comparing the New York governor to "a guy that's sleeping with your mom but stays overnight and eats breakfast with you in his boxers".

During his segment, Davidson also derided Florida's Rick Scott, New York's Peter King, Indiana's Greg Pence (the brother of Vice President Mike Pence), and himself, saying he looks "like he makes vape juice in a bathtub" and "like a Dr. Seuss character went to prison".

The comedian's quip against Crenshaw earned him criticism from some viewers. One Twitter user deemed the joke "totally cheap, disgusting and classless" while someone else found it "truly abhorrent and rotten to the core".

"And the fact that so-called 'joke' was approved by an entire staff of writers is horrific," that person added on Twitter.

Crenshaw told TMZ he doesn't want to demand an apology from Davidson but added: "I would like him and Saturday Night Live to recognise something, which is that veterans across the country probably don't feel as though their wounds they received in battle should be the subject of a bad punchline for a bad joke.

"And here's the real atrocity from all this. It wasn't even funny. It wasn't original, it was not funny. It was just mean-spirited and that's how I feel about it."

In his segment, Davidson also addressed his recent break-up with Ariana Grande, telling viewers: "The truth is, it's nobody's business and sometimes things just don't work out and that's OK.

"She's a wonderful, strong person and I genuinely wish her all the happiness in the world. Now please, go vote on Tuesday, all right?"