One person not shocked by Pete Davidson’s $3,000-an-episode salary as a cast member on “Saturday Night Live”?
“SNL” veteran Kenan Thompson.
Thompson, who has been on the NBC comedy sketch show for two decades, recently spoke with Variety at the American Museum of Natural History gala on Thursday about pay discrepancies in the television industry.
“It’s pretty notorious that it’s more so about having the job than getting paid for the job,” Thomspon said. “You gotta pay your dues a little bit.”
Davidson revealed his surprisingly low salary in a New York Magazine video posted on Wednesday about what cast members bought with their first “SNL” paycheck.
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“Do you guys know what they pay us?” Davidson said. “It’s like three grand an episode. I think I got dinner.”
Davidson’s statement left some room for interpretation, with some wondering if he was joking. However, it’s possible Davidson, who was a cast member from 2014 to 2022 and is now an A-list celeb, was citing a figure only for the early years of his tenure on the show.
Jason Sudeikis, a former “SNL” writer and cast member from 2005 to 2013, also reflected on the issue in the same video.
“You don’t make enough money to make big purchases,” Sudeikis recalled, joking that “New York rent” was his big splurge during his first year as a writer.