The comedian impersonates Kanye West on 'SNL,' and recalls the rapper's reaction to the impression.
Chris Redd says his friend and Saturday Night Live co-star, Pete Davidson, is "starting to talk again" amid the drama brought on by Kanye "Ye" West after the comedian started dating the rapper's ex, Kim Kardashian.
Prior to his Instagram account being suspended, West, who refers to Davidson as "Skete," had put up numerous posts slamming his ex's new boyfriend, and even appeared to bury alive a Davidson-like character in his recent "Easy" music video.
"I think Pete's handling it well," said Redd during an interview on SiriusXM’s The Jess Cagle Show.
As for how, or if, SNL plans on addressing the ongoing drama with West, the 36-year-old comedian, who impersonates the rapper on the show, noted, "Well, when it comes to Ye, I'm always, like, of the mind that I'll make fun. Look, I was raised joking. You clown. You clown people. That's kind of how we come up. We're from the same place. We know the same people, but at the same time, there is a serious layer to that situation that I just won't make fun of."
Redd added, "Like, I'm not making fun of his mental health. You know, I have my mental health issues myself. So I'm very aware of those things. And I never come from that place of making fun of that specifically. His irresponsibility of it is what I make fun of and his ego, but it's not, it's never those things."
The SNL star admitted that he's "really tired of sitting on these jokes." But given how well Davidson is doing now, Redd doesn't think it will be much longer before "these jokes gonna start flying."
"You always wanna make sure on both sides of it, even though me and Ye aren't friends, I want the best for that dude too. I'm still a fan of his music, you know?" he said of impersonating West again on SNL. "I hope that he learns how to handle this, so they could just move on with their lives."
That being said, Redd noted, "But yeah, it's not interesting to me to stir the pot on something that's just unhealthy."
The comedian also recalled West's reaction to when he saw his impersonation of him on SNL.
"I did the impression. He was there with [Dave] Chappelle and some other folks. And I tapped him on the shoulder to say what up, and he didn't fully turn around. He just did this like Batman thing. Like he just like did this <turns back> real quick. And I was like, 'So he don't like it.' Yeah, that was my takeaway, but it's all good," Redd said of West. "...Sometimes people can't take a joke and it's all good."
ET also recently spoke to SNL's Bowen Yang about how the cast was supporting Davidson during this time.
"We are supporting him by giving him space," Yang said of 28-year-old Davidson. "I think he’s just figuring it out, because I think a lot is out of his control, in terms of people's responses."
Yang added, "I think he’s just getting back to his comfort and I think that is the best thing he can do. We are all thinking about him, and we love him so much."
Davidson has not been on the latest episodes of SNL, and the drama between him and West has not been addressed on the show.
However, Kardashian is speaking about their romance on The Ellen DeGeneres Show. The 41-year-old reality star reveals the tattoos and branding that her new boyfriend got in her honor.
Check out the video to hear more.
RELATED CONTENT:
