Saturday Night Live comedian Pete Davidson backed out of the opportunity to leave Earth on Jeff Bezo’s Blue Origin space flight in an announcement Thursday.
“Blue Origin’s 20th flight of New Shepard has shifted to Tuesday, March 29. Pete Davidson is no longer able to join the NS-20 crew on this mission. We will announce the sixth crew member in the coming day,” Blue Origin announced in a Twitter post.
Blue Origin’s 20th flight of New Shepard has shifted to Tuesday, March 29. Pete Davidson is no longer able to join the NS-20 crew on this mission. We will announce the sixth crew member in the coming days.
— Blue Origin (@blueorigin) March 18, 2022
Davidson, 28, was supposed to leave Earth from the West Texas launch site, along with a team of paying customers aboard the flight, on March 23. The new launch date conflicts with Davidson’s existing schedule, and so he will not be able to take part, according to the New York Post. (RELATED: Pete Davidson Backs Off ‘SNL’ Skit About Ariana Grande Split After She Gets Upset)
The other astronauts aboard NS-20, Party America CEO Marty Allen, property moguls and philanthropist couple Sharon and Marc Hagle, University of North Carolina alum Jim Kitchen, and President of Commercial Space Technologies, Dr. George Nield will be joined by another passenger for the flight, who will be announced in the next 10 days, according to the Twitter post.
Davidson was scheduled as an “honorary guest” aboard the flight alongside the other paying customers, according to The Verge. Actor William Shatner, GMA anchor Michael Strahan, and aviator Wally Funk have all taken part in previous launches to “build hype” for Jeff Bezo’s organization, The Verge noted.