NBC’s “Saturday Night Live” chose Pete Davidson to portray controversial rep Matt Gaetz – despite the cast member dating an 18-year-old last year.
Davidson, 27, appeared as Gaetz (R-Fl.) In the cold open of the show, in which the 38-year-old lawmaker was a guest on a Britney Spears-hosted talk show for “the social pariahs of the week. “
During the performance, Davidson, as Gaetz, quoted Glenn Quagmire as the hypersexualized character from “Family Guy”, repeatedly saying “giggity giggity goo”.
Davidson dated Kaia Gerber, the 19-year-old supermodel and daughter of Cindy Crawford, until February 2020. She was 18 at the time.
Many on Twitter took note of the relationship after Davidson portrayed the Republican lawmaker, who is under investigation for allegedly sleeping with a 17-year-old girl.
“Pete Davidson as Matt Gaetz is a bit too on the nose,” wrote one Twitter user.
“Pete Davidson as Gaetz was clearly just as disturbing to him as he was to his fans,” wrote another.
For its part, the Florida legislature has been mired in a significant amount of controversy over the past week.
On Tuesday, the New York Times reported that the congressman was the subject of an investigation into whether he was sleeping with a 17-year-old girl.
The investigation, the Times reported, stemmed from an investigation into Joel Greenberg, a Gaetz ally accused of, among other things, sex trafficking last summer.
Gaetz vehemently denied the charges, instead claiming on Fox News’ “Tucker Carlson Tonight” later that night that his family had been the victim of a $ 25 million extortion plot by a former Justice Department official.
That official, David McGee, a former Florida federal prosecutor who now works at the law firm Beggs & Lane, has denied the extortion claims.
Gaetz also alleged that the existence of the DOJ probe was leaked to the media in an attempt to thwart the FBI investigation into the alleged extortion plot.
The GOP congressman, the son of Don Gaetz, a prominent former Florida politician, then told a baffled Carlson that his father had gone to carry a wire to aid the FBI in that alleged racketeering investigation.
The elder Gaetz, 73, confirmed his son’s story about the telegram to Politico in an interview on Wednesday, saying he wore it during a meeting with McGee in early March.
The former Florida State Senate president further said he had concerns with authorities about his participation, noting that the operation would require him to be admitted with false statements.
“I told the FBI, ‘I am willing to carry a telegram and be cooperative,’ but I was asked to say things that are not true to force a confession,” the retired Florida lawmaker told the outlet, without the nature of those “things”.
As controversy – and confusion – over the bomb allegations began to mount, the younger Gaetz was hit with another allegation Thursday.
Multiple sources told CNN that the controversial congressman showed photos of naked women he claimed to have had sex with fellow lawmakers boasting about his conquests.
While on the House floor, Gaetz reportedly showed the images of women from his phone and talked about sex with them.
A video showed a naked woman with a hula hoop, a source told the network.
CNN’s claim does not appear to be related to the DOJ probe in any way.