Colin Jost claims he wasn’t ‘stoned’ like Pete Davidson when they purchased $280,000 ferry
Colin Jost has claimed he was “stone cold sober” when he bought a decommissioned Staten Island Ferry with his former Saturday Night Live co-star Pete Davidson.
Pete, 29, admitted he deeply regrets buying the ferry while stoned with Colin.
However, 40-year-old Colin has now debunked the idea that he and Pete were ‘very stoned’ when they bought the boat.
On Wednesday, the comedian wrote on Instagram, “Is it worse that I was actually stone cold sober when we bought the ferry?”
He went on to suggest that the pair could have the ferry operational by 2025: ‘We are delighted to prove the non-believers wrong. You’re going to beg to get on this ferry in two years. Mark my words.’
Speaking: Colin Jost has claimed he was ‘stone cold sober’ when he bought a decommissioned Staten Island Ferry with his former Saturday Night Live co-star Pete Davidson
Regret: Pete, 29, admitted he deeply regrets buying the ferry while stoned with Colin
Pete recently admitted to regretting the costly purchase.
Speaking to Entertainment Tonight on Monday, Pete gave fans an update on the pair’s January 2022 splurge.
“I have no idea what’s going on with that thing,” he said at the New York premiere of Transformers: Rise of the Beasts.
“Me and Colin got really stoned a year ago and bought a ferry. And we’re figuring it out.’
Pete joked that he would host an after party for his latest movie on the bright orange boat, “if it didn’t sink!”
“Hopefully it turns into a Transformer and the bastard gets out of there so I don’t have to pay for it anymore!” said Pete, who plays the character Mirage in the latest Transformers movie.
Pete and Colin, as well as comedy club owner Paul Italia, purchased the ferry when it was auctioned off by New York City’s Department of Citywide Administrative Services.
The ferry, named the John F. Kennedy, carried commuters between Manhattan and Staten Island from 1965 to 2021.
At the time of their purchase, the comedians, who are both from Staten Island, said the plan was to turn the 277-foot ship into a New York City club.
But those plans soon ran into obstacles, when the ferry’s former captain, Kevin Hennessey, told the New York Daily News that it would likely cost Pete and Colin millions to refurbish the ferry.
Hennessey said the boat’s engine was also compromised by a fire that broke out in the engine room just after the ferry was decommissioned and before the comedians bought it.
He added that the toxic asbestos lining the walls of the ferry, which was “a common building material” in 1965, would be one of the biggest complications the ferry project would face.
“As time passed and pipes and wires rotted, the asbestos lining was broken up and patched up,” he said. “It’s generally harmless until you grind it or drill into it.”
He said cockroach infestations are common on the Staten Island ferries, but the John F. Kennedy always had a particularly big problem.
Another ferry worker said cockroaches thrived in pockets under the boat’s seats where life jackets were stored.
On Wednesday, Colin wrote on Instagram, “Is it worse that I was actually stone cold sober when we bought the ferry?”
Purchase: Jost and Davidson bought the ferry — the MV John F. Kennedy — last year with comedy club owner Paul Italia for $280,000
“People are lazy and like to dump their rubbish in there,” said the worker.
Ferry workers told the Daily News that they estimate the renovation could run into the millions, and that Pete and Colin had a good idea but were no good.
“I wish these guys luck with the project, but they’re going to need some help,” said Hennessey.
At the time, Italia called Hennessey’s assessment of the ferry’s condition “garbage information” and said plans for the ferry’s future would be announced by the end of the year.