Though sympathetic, the senior member of 'Saturday Night Live' admits that his comedian co-star should have been more aware of sensitive issues before poking fun at Dan Crenshaw.

• Nov 6, 2018

AceShowbiz - Comedian Kenan Thompson sympathises with his "Saturday Night Live" co-star Pete Davidson following his ill-advised joke about a U.S. veteran, but insists he "definitely" crossed a line.

Ariana Grande's ex-fiance has come under fire after appearing on the comedy show's Weekend Update segment on Saturday, November 03, and poking fun at Dan Crenshaw, a former U.S. Navy SEAL-turned-Republican congressional hopeful, who lost an eye while on a tour of duty in Afghanistan in 2012.

Davidson offered up his first impressions of a number of political candidates up for election on Tuesday, November 06, and said of Crenshaw, "You may be surprised to hear he's a congressional candidate in Texas and not a hitman in a porno movie."

"I'm sorry, I know he lost his eye in war, or whatever. Whatever," the "Trainwreck" actor remarked as he moved on to the next part of his act.

His quip did not go down well with viewers, with many attacking Davidson on social media, and now Kenan, who is a senior member of the SNL cast, admits Pete went too far.

Asked if Davidson "crossed a line" with his comments, Kenan told U.S. breakfast show "Today", "It seems it, it definitely seems it."

"My father's a veteran, Vietnam, so I personally would never necessarily go there, but it's tough when you're fishing for jokes. That's how stand-ups feel, like, there's no real filters out there in the world when they're trying to go for a great joke..."

"We try to respect that, but at the same time, when you miss the mark you're offending people, so you have to be a little more aware (of what is too sensitive), in my opinion."

However, Kenan doesn't believe Pete meant to brush off Crenshaw's sacrifice for their country when he ended his joke with "whatever".

"I think he's more so commenting on the fact that the joke maybe didn't land as hard as he wanted to, as opposed to being like, 'I don't care about veterans,' " he said. "Pete's a very humble dude, he's got a big heart, I don't think he goes out to offend people... That was an unfortunate outcome."

Pete, who lost his fireman dad Scott in the 9/11 terror attacks in 2001, has yet to respond to the backlash, but Crenshaw has weighed in, insisting that while the joke was in bad taste, he doesn't necessarily agree with his supporters' demand for a public apology.

"I want us to get away from this culture where we demand apologies every time someone misspeaks," he told TMZ. "I think that would be very healthy for our nation to go in that direction."