Pete Davidson Booed On ‘SNL’ For Comparing R. Kelly To Catholic Church [VIDEO]

Pete Davidson tackled the R. Kelly sex abuse scandal on Saturday Night Live by comparing the R&B singer to the Catholic church.

Davidson, 25, prefaced his comments about the accused pedophile, who was charged with 10 counts of aggravated criminal sex abuse, by saying, “Before I continue, this guy is a monster and he should go to jail forever.”

He then likened the R. Kelly allegations to the Catholic Church child abuse scandal, which has seen five leaders taken down recently. “But if you support the Catholic Church, isn’t that the same thing as being an R. Kelly fan? I don’t really see the difference — only one’s music is significantly better,” the comedian said, which received a mixed reaction of boos and laughs from the audience.

Davidson continued by mentioning music fans’ struggle to stop listening to songs by R. Kelly and Michael Jackson, two music icons surrounded by sexual abuse allegations.

Jackson was accused of pedophilia that was detailed in the HBO documentary, Leaving Neverland. 

“Look, I’m not saying it’s an easy decision. I’m just saying you don’t know how good someone’s music is until you find out they’re a pedophile,” the SNL comedian joked. “And the reason everyone’s so upset is because R. Kelly and Michael Jackson made great music. If I found out Macklemore did some weird stuff, I’d be happy to free up the space on my iPhone.”

Davidson then suggested how fans should handle deciding to continue to listen to R. Kelly’s music amid the allegations of sexual abuse. “The rule should be, if you want to listen to their music, you just have to admit they’re bad people,” he stated.

Asked why he can’t just stop listening altogether, Davidson replied, “All I’m saying is pretending these people never existed is maybe not the solution.”

Davidson said he created a plan and hopes the audience will follow him. “Any time any of us listen to a song or watch a movie made by an accused serial predator, you have to donate a dollar to a charity that helps sexual assault survivors.”

The comedian jokingly added that he has “already donated $142, and that’s just from the ‘Ignition’ remix alone.”

Davidson ended his appearance on a lighter note by addressing his new relationship with actress Kate Beckinsale, who is 20 years older than him. “Apparently, people have a crazy fascination with our age difference. But it doesn’t really bother us,” said the SNL personality. “But then again, I’m new to this, so if you have questions about relationships with a big age difference, just ask Leonardo DiCaprio, Jason Statham, Michael Douglas, Richard Gere…” he went on, listing more stars who have been in relationships with big age gaps.