The New York City Marathon took place this past Sunday, and the runners were not the only ones chugging along the route. In a rare outing, Colin Jost and Pete Davidson’s Staten Island ferry was spotted as part of a collab with Nike, potentially revealing what’s next for the infamous vessel, as well as its owners.
We may not see Pete Davidson posting on social media anymore, but thanks to his girlfriend Elsie Hewitt, sometimes we get snaps of the comedian via her Instagram. Even less frequent are updates on the Titanic 2, the Staten Island ferry Davidson and Jost bought at an auction in 2022. The boat has been in limbo for years now, but Hewitt just came through with a pic of the ferry on her Instagram, and it may give us some context on potential plans for the vessel:
The image above was posted to the Industry actor’s Story on Sunday. It shows the boat wrapped in pink and sporting the Nike Run logo, alongside the slogan “NYC won’t carry you. It pushes you.”
The message was in support of the 50,000+ people who ran the New York City Marathon, with the ferry seen floating along the marathon route. Hewitt’s Instagram Story captured the boat in front of the Statue of Liberty, with a thought bubble extending from Lady Liberty with the word “iconic” inside.
I have to agree that this is pretty iconic, and a necessary win for all involved. Let’s just say, this boat has been drowning in poor press the past couple of years, with locals calling it an “eyesore.” Originally, the SNL stars planned to turn the ferry into an entertainment event space, with ideas like a restaurant, a concert venue, and hotel all being floated out. However, the ferry has resulted in little more than some easy punchlines aimed aimed at Davidson and Jost, while the two leak money to keep it afloat.
At least, that was the case! It seems the tide may be turning for the Weekend Update host and the Riff Raff actor, if Hewitt’s story is any indication. This partnership with Nike is one of three recent deals the boat’s captains have made to bring in revenue, the other two being the horror movie Screamboat Willie, and Tommy Hilfiger fashion show. Now TMZ sources are saying that the two Staten Island natives are reportedly no longer planning to resell the boat, after previously looking to offload their “whimsical” purchase.
This also provides some context into where the former SNL castmates stand in their personal relationship with each other. Rumors of a rocky relationship between them started last year, with inside sources allegedly saying Jost did not want to be in the same building as Davidson, and that there was an awkward interaction between the two men when The Pickup actor returned to Studio 8H to cameo on John Mulaney‘s SNL50 episode.
However, perhaps this continued partnership on the Staten Island ferry is a sign of water under the bridge (or the boat in this case). If I was no longer friends with someone, I wouldn’t want a $280K financial anchor tying me to them.
The same TMZ sources said the two comedians are reportedly on good terms as of right now, and have the same professional goals in mind when it comes to their expensive passion project. But the source claims they are not close anymore, and allegedly never were.
Regardless of where they stand as friends, I’m kind of glad Jost and Davidson are no longer selling the ferry, and that finally something is happening with this darn boat. The potential is there, and this Nike collab has me excited for the next chapter. I can’t wait to see what other companies or individuals seize this opportunity. Just think of how epic an SNL afterparty would be on that boat.
