It’s the end of an era on Saturday Night Live. Pete Davidson has officially left the show after 8 years.

Davidson was only 20 years old when he joined SNL. During his last Weekend Update sketch, he joked that the show’s creator and producer, Lorne Michaels, hired him even though he didn’t think he was right for the job. He said that Michaels told him, “I don’t think you’re right for this show, so let’s screw this up together.”

Davidson does not use social media, but he sometimes has his friend Dave Sirus share things for him on Instagram. Before this past Saturday’s show, Sirus shared a touching letter written by Davidson about his time at SNL. The letter was also his official public announcement that he was leaving the show.

Along with the letter, Davidson also included a video where he was hugging Jerrod Carmichael. Davidson wrote, “This video was taken 8 years ago. Jerrod sent it to me last night and it made me super emotional in the best way. In the video I had just gotten back from doing my very first update and sketch. It’s crazy to think that today I’ll be doing my last one.”

Davidson went on to explain that he “had no idea what I was doing” when he first started at SNL. He explained, “I wasn’t really a sketch performer I was just a stand up. I knew I could never keep up or go toe to toe with a Kenan Thompson or a Kate McKinnon so I was super scared at figuring out what I could possibly bring to or do for such a historic, respected show and platform. I figured since I’m a stand up I’ll just try my stand up and personal bits on Weekend Update as myself and I’m so glad I did. I got to share so much with this audience and literally grow up in front of your eyes.”

He went on to say, “I owe Lorne Michaels and everyone at SNL my life. Im so grateful and I wouldn’t be here without them. I appreciate you guys always having my back and sticking up for me even when that wasn’t the popular opinion. Thank you for always believing in me and sticking by my side even when it seemed comical. Thank you for teaching me life values, how to grow up and for giving me memories that will last a lifetime.”

 

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Watch Davidson say goodbye during his final Weekend Update sketch in the video below.