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Pete Davidson didn’t hold back while delivering a blunt message to New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani.
On Monday night, the 32-year-old comedian appeared on “Jimmy Kimmel Live!” where Kimmel, 58, told him that Mamdani, 34, would be his next guest. The late night host then pointed out that Davidson was a “lifelong resident of this city” and asked if he had any questions for the mayor.
“Yes, could he fix the “f—–g BQE, please?” Davidson said in a clip shared on the show’s Instagram page.
Pete Davidson called out New York City mayor Zohran Mamdani over long-delayed construction on major highway. (Todd Owyoung/NBC via Getty Images; Michael M. Santiago/Getty Images)
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The BQE, short for the Brooklyn-Queens Expressway, is a major New York City highway that runs through Brooklyn and Queens and has long been criticized for traffic congestion and aging infrastructure.
Davidson’s request was immediately met with cheers and thunderous applause from the studio audience.
“You hit on something,” Kimmel noted.
“Look at that,” Davidson said, gesturing toward the crowd.
“That’s the loudest response I’ve ever gotten,” he added with a laugh.
Davidson told Kimmel to ask Mamdani about the highway that he says has “been under construction since before I was born.” (Disney via Getty Images)
The “Saturday Night Live” star went on to explain that his frustration stemmed from the seemingly endless construction and what he described as a lack of visible work at the site.
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“The BQE has been under construction since before I was born. And here’s my problem with it,” Davidson said. “They’re never doing anything. Someone’s just standing there eating a sandwich or on the phone, and there’s all these cones around.”
“So I don’t know what mob front or whatever, who’s getting money from whatever, but just fix it, please,” he added.
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“I’m going ask him about it. I will ask him about it,” Kimmel assured Davidson, who replied, “Yeah, please!”
At the end of Mamdani’s appearance on the show, Kimmel presented the mayor with Davidson’s question.
“One more thing,” Kimmel told Mamdani.
“Hit me,” Mamdani said with a smile.
Mamdani later responded to Davidson’s message when he appeared on Kimmel’s show later in the episode. (ABC/JimmyKimmelLive)
“Pete Davidson wants to know what’s going on in the BQE,” Kimmel said. “He says he drives by it and he sees nobody doing anything. He said it’s been like since before he was born.”
Mamdani responded by highlighting his office’s BQE Central Project, a $4 billion plan to rehabilitate the city-owned section of the Brooklyn-Queens Expressway between Atlantic Avenue and Sands Street, with construction expected to begin in 2030.
“We’re gonna be putting a multi-billion dollar plan to actually repair the part the city owns,” Mamdani said. “Which is the part that is currently the most at risk and that’s going to be proceeding over the next 10 years. Full safety. No diversion of traffic into local neighborhoods and actually bring it back.”
“So you’re saying Pete’s daughter will also be complaining about this,” Kimmel joked as Mamdani and the audience laughed.
Digital reached out to Davidson’s and Mamdani’s reps for comment.
Mamdani, a Democratic socialist, emerged as a surprise winner in New York City’s mayoral race last November after building a strong following through social media and grassroots campaigning. He took office on Jan. 1 when he was sworn in as mayor.
Mamdani, a Democratic socialist, pulled off a surprise election victory last November. (Barry Williams/New York Daily News/Tribune News Service via Getty Images)
Davidson has mostly talked about politics jokingly, but he has openly criticized President Donald Trump and supported the Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton during the 2016 election.
After Clinton lost the 2016 election, Davidson posted an angry pro-Clinton message and later got a tattoo of the former Secretary of State, calling her his “hero.”
In an interview with Variety that was published Wednesday, Davidson discussed how he is in the process of removing nearly all of his almost 200 tattoos.
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“One, they were f—-n’ horrible,” he said of his tattoos. “Two, it was a business decision. I hated coming into the makeup trailer three hours early to spray-paint over horrible f—-n’ tattoos. And third, I was like, ‘I’m not this dude.’ I got these when I was in an immense amount of pain and I was trying to show people my pain.”
Davidson admitted that some of his tattoos were a result of his past struggles with self-harm, saying he initially used the ink to cover scars.
“I used to cut, so some of [the tattoos] covered up the cuts,” he told Variety.
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Davidson is removing most of his 200 tattoos but vowed to keep his Hillary Clinton ink. (Dominik Bindl/Getty Images)
However, Davidson confirmed that he would be keeping his Clinton tattoo despite removing most of his other ink.
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“She stays,” he said of the tattoo depicting Clinton in a power suit on his right leg.
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“That’s my dog,” Davidson added of Clinton. “I love Hillary, man. She’s awesome and a good friend.”
