Pete Davidson sparks uproar after SNL joke about army veteran who lost an eye

Comedian Pete Davidson has garnered criticism after he insulted a Republican politician who lost an eye during military service in an episode of Saturday Night Live.

Davidson was appearing on the Weekend Updates segment of the show, presented by Michael Che. During the segment, he offered his first impressions of several midterm candidates, though he admitted that he wasn't an expert on the races:

After I had to move back in with my mom, I started paying attention to them.

I realised there are some really gross people running for office this year.

First, he mocked Republican candidates Rick Scott and Peter King, before taking aim at Dan Crenshaw, a former Navy SEAL, who is running as the Republican candidate for the US House of Representatives for Texas's second congressional district, and who lost an eye in an IED explosion in Afghanistan.

In the joke, Davidson said:

You may be surprised to find he's a congressional candidate for Texas, and not a hit man, in a porno movie.

Before he even started the joke, co-presenter Che anticipated the backlash, saying "Come on, man!" But Davidson carried on.

After the offensive joke, Crenshaw took to Twitter to criticise the low blow:

Good rule in life: I try hard not to offend; I try harder not to be offended. That being said, I hope @nbcsnl recognises that vets don’t deserve to see their wounds used as punchlines for bad jokes.

Many other social media users were also quick to criticise the joke, from both the left and the right, and Crenshaw's tweet received a bevvy of supportive responses.

Others expressed their outrage.

Comedian Davidson is no stranger to controversy. Earlier this year, the 24-year-old came under fire for an 'absolutely disgusting', 'horrifying' and 'shocking' joke he allegedly made about the Manchester bombings.

He also addressed his recent breakup with pop star Ariana Grande, who recently announced that the couple had called off their engagement.

Speaking on the show, he said:

I know some of you are curious about the breakup, but the truth is, it’s nobody’s business, and sometimes things just don’t work out and that’s okay.

She’s a wonderful, strong person and I genuinely wish her all the happiness in the world.

HT Mashable

More: Ariana Grande and Pete Davidson broke up and people don’t believe in love anymore

More: Ariana Grande’s fiancé criticised for 'disgusting joke' about Manchester bombing