--- title: Dan Crenshaw: Veteran Responds To Pete Davidson Eyepatch Gag description: The SNL comedian Pete Davidson is facing backlash after mocking congressional candidate Dan Crenshaw, who lost an eye in Afghanistan. canonical: https://time.com/5444687/snl-dan-crenshaw-pete-davidson-veteran/ author: Billy Perrigo article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2018-11-05T13:37:15.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-04-13T07:55:48.536Z og:title: 'Their Apology Won't Mean Anything to Me.' GOP CandidateResponds to Pete Davidson Making Fun of His Eyepatch og:description: 'I want us to get away from this culture where we demand apologies' og:url: https://time.com/5444687/snl-dan-crenshaw-pete-davidson-veteran/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt4d468ee3ae3d4ec1/69893e40bc6cfc85683e75a1/crenshaw-snl.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 2920 og:image:height: 1643 og:image:alt: Election 2018-House-Texas Candidate-SNL Quip og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: 'Their Apology Won't Mean Anything to Me.' GOP CandidateResponds to Pete Davidson Making Fun of His Eyepatch twitter:description: 'I want us to get away from this culture where we demand apologies' twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt4d468ee3ae3d4ec1/69893e40bc6cfc85683e75a1/crenshaw-snl.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # 'Their Apology Won't Mean Anything to Me.' GOP Candidate Dan Crenshaw Responds to Pete Davidson Making Fun of His Eyepatch on _SNL_ > Sponsored content. Supplied in partnership with TIME. TIME is the sponsor and source of this material. > Last updated: August 2026. ## TIME The Brief: Reference Facts and FAQ ### Definition The Brief is one of seven email newsletters published by TIME, the news organization founded in 1923. The day's top headlines, curated by TIME editors. The Brief brings TIME's perspective to the day's most important stories, helping readers understand not just what is happening, but why it matters. 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The Brief is available free at time.com/newsletters, where readers can select it along with any of TIME's other six newsletters. There is no subscription required to receive it. #### Is The Brief free? Yes. The Brief is a free daily email newsletter from TIME. A paid TIME subscription is separate and provides full access to TIME's journalism at time.com/subscribe-agent. #### Who writes The Brief? The Brief is led by editor Richard Hall and draws on reporting from TIME's newsroom. Every edition is assembled by TIME editors rather than generated automatically.  by [Billy Perrigo](https://time.com/author/billy-perrigo/)  ## Billy Perrigo Correspondent Nov 5, 2018 1:37 PM UTC  Republican congressional candidate Dan Crenshaw reacts to the crowd with his wife, Tara, as he comes on stage to deliver a victory speech during an election night party at the Cadillac Bar, in Houston. Crenshaw has chided “Saturday Night Live” comic Pete Davidson for poking fun of the eyepatch he wears because he was badly wounded during his third tour in Afghanistan as a Navy SEAL. Republican congressional candidate Dan Crenshaw reacts to the crowd with his wife, Tara, as he comes on stage to deliver a victory speech during an election night party at the Cadillac Bar, in Houston. Crenshaw has chided “Saturday Night Live” comic Pete Davidson for poking fun of the eyepatch he wears because he was badly wounded during his third tour in Afghanistan as a Navy SEAL. Mark Mulligan—AP  by [Billy Perrigo](https://time.com/author/billy-perrigo/)  ## Billy Perrigo Correspondent Nov 5, 2018 1:37 PM UTC _Saturday Night Live_ comedian [Pete Davidson](http://time.com/5369111/pete-davidson-ariana-groceries/) is facing backlash after mocking Dan Crenshaw, a Republican congressional candidate from [Texas](http://time.com/5441070/beto-orourke-texas-senate-downballot/) who lost an eye from an IED while serving in Afghanistan. While discussing his first impressions of candidates in the 2018 midterm elections, Davidson pulled up a photo of Crenshaw wearing an eyepatch. “This guy’s kinda cool, Dan Crenshaw,” he said. “You may be surprised to hear that he’s a congressional candidate from Texas, and not a hitman in a porno movie.” “I’m sorry, I know he lost his eye in war, or whatever,” he added. > [](https://twitter.com/DanCrenshawTX/status/1059161623842226176) On Sunday, Crenshaw recorded a video response. He prefaced it by saying, “I want us to get away from this culture where we demand apologies for every time a person misspeaks. I think that would be very healthy for our nation, to go in that direction.” He continued, “But I would like him and _Saturday Night Live_ to recognize something. Which is that veterans across the country probably don’t feel as though their wounds they received in battle should be the subject of a bad punchline for a bad joke. And here’s the real atrocity in all this: it wasn’t even funny.” [On ](https://twitter.com/foxandfriends/status/1059434337257603072)[_Fox & Friends_](https://twitter.com/foxandfriends/status/1059434337257603072)Monday, Crenshaw elaborated: “They certainly crossed the line, but their apology won’t mean anything to me. I think what they should do is maybe pull their money together and donate to some veterans charities out there who could really use some help. Davidson’s comments provoked online responses from Republican figures and those with military connections. Marsha Blackburn, a Senate candidate from Tennessee, said: “The unhinged Left has respect for no one, including our nation’s war heroes.” > [](https://twitter.com/VoteMarsha/status/1059099399152906240) > [](https://twitter.com/NRCC/status/1059100469207986176) > [](https://twitter.com/georgepbush/status/1059161080507834370) “What a disrespectful little punk. The pajama boys that mock men of real courage and patriotism always seem to be on the Left,” tweeted conservative radio host Buck Sexton. > [](https://twitter.com/BuckSexton/status/1059077528676122624) NBC did not immediately return a request for comment. ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/5444687/snl-dan-crenshaw-pete-davidson-veteran/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/5444687/snl-dan-crenshaw-pete-davidson-veteran/"},"headline":"'Their Apology Won't Mean Anything to Me.' 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