Pete Davidson and Colin Jost Put Their Comedy Ferry to Sea in a Queasy First Test
Pete Davidson and Colin Jost tested the decommissioned Staten Island Ferry they purchased in 2022 during a one-night comedy event sponsored by Snapple.
Pete Davidson and Colin Jost have taken an unusual step in turning a piece of New York transportation history into an entertainment venue. The comedians brought their decommissioned Staten Island Ferry out for a one-night comedy event, offering an early test of an idea that has attracted attention since they bought the vessel in 2022.
The debut did not proceed entirely smoothly. The ferry’s first outing was described as “hot and nauseous”, a blunt assessment that captured the practical challenge at the center of the project: a comedy show on a boat has to work not only as a performance, but also as a maritime experience. The event was sponsored by Snapple.
The occasion marked the first reported test of the ferry’s “sea legs” since Davidson and Jost acquired it. Rather than presenting the vessel simply as a retired object or a backdrop for publicity, the comedians used it for its most obvious potential purpose: carrying people on the water while performers entertain them. That combination gives the project a distinct identity, but it also introduces conditions that would not exist in a conventional theater or comedy club.
A comedy room is designed to keep attention focused on the stage. A ferry, by contrast, moves, vibrates and responds to the water around it. Heat and motion can become part of the audience’s experience, whether or not they are included in the show. The reaction to the debut suggests that the physical realities of the vessel were impossible to separate from the evening’s entertainment.
Davidson and Jost purchased the decommissioned Staten Island Ferry in 2022. The acquisition transformed the boat from a retired public-service vessel into an object associated with two prominent comedians. Their decision also connected the project to New York’s broader culture of repurposing familiar infrastructure. A ferry that once represented routine travel could now serve as an unconventional setting for live comedy.
The Staten Island Ferry has long been strongly associated with New York, making the vessel recognizable beyond its original function. Once decommissioned, it no longer operated as part of the city’s regular ferry service. The purchase by Davidson and Jost gave it a new chapter, although the supplied account does not specify the full plans for the boat, the changes made to it or whether additional events are scheduled.
That uncertainty makes the one-night event especially significant. It was not described as the launch of a regular season or as the beginning of a permanent entertainment operation. Instead, it functioned as a trial: an opportunity to discover what happens when a comedy performance is placed on a working vessel rather than in a stationary venue.
The trial appears to have raised a question familiar to anyone who has attended an event in an unusual location: how much of the setting can an audience tolerate before it overwhelms the show? A boat can make an evening memorable, but the same movement and enclosed atmosphere can also affect comfort. The “hot and nauseous” description points to a logistical issue that may be as important as the comedy itself if the project continues.
For Davidson and Jost, the setting also creates a contrast between their public identities. Davidson is known for a candid, often personal style of comedy and for a career that has included stand-up and television. Jost is known to a wide audience through his work in television comedy. Their shared ownership of the ferry adds a business and production dimension to their relationship, turning a familiar comedic partnership into an experiment involving a large, highly recognizable piece of equipment.
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The source account does not provide a detailed lineup, set list or description of the material performed during the event. It also does not identify how many people attended or explain the precise route the ferry took. Those details remain important for understanding the event, but the central fact is clear: Davidson and Jost used the boat for a live comedy occasion and discovered that the vessel itself could shape the experience.
Snapple’s sponsorship gave the event a commercial partner and helped connect the ferry’s debut to a branded presentation. Sponsorships are common in live entertainment, but this partnership had an especially visible role because the event was built around a distinctive physical location. The sponsor was not merely attached to a standard stage show; it was associated with an attempt to make a retired ferry part of a new entertainment concept.
The arrangement also illustrates how celebrity projects can extend beyond film, television and stand-up appearances. Davidson and Jost were not only performers at the event. As the ferry’s owners, they were connected to the venue itself. That distinction changes the story from a one-time appearance at an unusual location to an experiment in creating a venue with a built-in narrative.
The narrative begins with the ferry’s previous life and continues through its retirement, purchase and conversion into a possible entertainment space. Every part of the vessel’s history can become relevant to an audience. People may arrive with an interest in Davidson or Jost, with curiosity about the ferry, or with both. The unusual setting may be as much a reason to attend as the names on the bill.
Yet novelty alone cannot resolve the practical concerns revealed by the debut. A successful ferry-based show would have to account for temperature, ventilation, movement and the length of time people spend aboard. It would also have to balance the expectations of a comedy audience with the realities of a boat. The supplied material does not say whether Davidson and Jost intend to make changes, but the first event provided information they could use in evaluating the concept.
The phrase “tested its sea legs” is particularly fitting because it describes both the ferry and the project. The boat had to function as a venue, while the comedians had to determine whether their idea could work outside the familiar conditions of a club or theater. The debut was therefore not simply a performance in a different room. It was a test of whether a mobile, maritime environment could support the rhythm and concentration that live comedy requires.
Comedy depends heavily on timing, audience attention and a shared sense of atmosphere. A ferry introduces an additional source of unpredictability. The audience is not only listening; it is also experiencing the movement and temperature of the vessel. Even a well-prepared performance can be affected when the surroundings become unusually warm or when passengers feel unwell. That makes the first event useful as a practical demonstration, regardless of how the individual sets were received.
The event’s one-night-only format also limited the commitment. Davidson and Jost could present the concept without announcing a long run or a standing schedule. A single event offered a way to gauge interest and identify difficulties while preserving the special quality of the occasion. It also meant that the ferry’s first comedy voyage could be treated as a distinctive happening rather than as the opening of an ordinary venue.
For fans, the appeal lies partly in the collision of recognizable New York imagery and celebrity comedy. The Staten Island Ferry is not an anonymous boat; it carries a civic and cultural association. Placing Davidson and Jost’s names alongside it produces an unusual blend of public history, entertainment and personal enterprise. The event’s identity came from that combination even before the first joke was delivered.
The reported discomfort adds an unexpected layer to the story. Promotional language around a new entertainment project often emphasizes spectacle and fun. “Hot and nauseous” is less polished, but it is more revealing. It acknowledges that the experience of attending a show on a boat cannot be separated from bodily comfort. A venue may be memorable for its character, but it still has to work for the people inside it.
There is no indication in the supplied material that the debut ended the project or that the ferry will not be used again. There is also no confirmation of a future schedule. For now, the event stands as an initial demonstration of what Davidson and Jost envisioned when they purchased the vessel in 2022: a retired Staten Island Ferry serving as the setting for live comedy.
Whether the concept develops into a recurring attraction will depend on factors that the first event brought into focus. The organizers would need to consider the comfort of guests, the demands of performers and the operational requirements of taking a large decommissioned ferry onto the water. They would also need to determine what kind of programming could make the experience worth repeating without allowing the novelty of the location to overshadow the show.
The debut nevertheless gave the project a concrete beginning. Until now, the ferry’s connection to Davidson and Jost was primarily defined by the purchase itself. With the Snapple-sponsored event, the comedians demonstrated one possible future for the vessel. They also showed why the idea is both compelling and difficult: the ferry can provide a setting unlike any traditional comedy venue, but it brings the water, heat and motion along with it.
For Davidson and Jost, that may be the most valuable lesson from the first voyage. A comedy ferry does not behave like a theater simply because a stage and an audience are placed aboard. Its atmosphere is shaped by the boat’s physical condition and by the conditions on the water. The first night made those limitations visible, while also confirming the project’s central appeal.
The retired Staten Island Ferry has now been given a new public identity, at least for one evening. It became a venue for two comedians who had acquired it four years earlier, with Snapple supporting the experiment. The reception and practical challenges of that “hot and nauseous” debut will help define what comes next, but the basic achievement is already clear: Davidson and Jost moved their comedy project from an intriguing purchase to an actual event at sea.
