Pete Davidson says he was high on ketamine at Aretha Franklin's funeral: 'I'm embarrassed'

• Pete Davidson jokes about drug abuse in his new Netflix comedy special, "Turbo Fonzarelli."
• He reveals that he was high while attending Aretha Franklin's funeral with Ariana Grande in 2018.
• "I have to live with that," he says. "She'll never know, but still, that's not the point."

Pete Davidson flexes his signature candor in his new Netflix comedy special, "Turbo Fonzarelli," which premiered on Tuesday.

In the opening minutes of the hourlong stand-up routine, Davidson jokes about his past drug abuse.

"I was on a magical drug for the last two-and-a-half, three years called ketamine," he says. "It was amazing. What a time."

Shortly after, Davidson reveals he was high while attending Aretha Franklin's funeral with Ariana Grande in 2018.

"It's embarrassing when you're not on ketamine anymore," he says. "I'm embarrassed. I was out and about like that. That's not cool, you know? I was at funerals like that. That's fucked up, right? I was at Aretha Franklin's funeral like that."

"I have to live with that," Davidson continues. "You know what I mean? She'll never know, but still, that's not the point."

Franklin, widely known as the "Queen of Soul," died at age 76 from advanced pancreatic cancer. At the time, Davidson was engaged to Grande, who was asked to perform at the service.

Franklin's funeral was attended by many musicians and close friends of the legendary singer. Davidson, then known as a cast member on "Saturday Night Live," was presumably invited as Grande's plus-one.

"If she was there, she'd probably be like, 'Hey! Who are you and what the fuck are you doing at my funeral?'" Davidson jokes in the special.

"It's embarrassing," he adds. "I was so high I thought it was a good idea to say to her family, 'Hey, I'm just here to pay my R-E-S-P-E-C-Ts.'"

Davidson has been open about mental illness and addiction throughout his career. However, as The AV Club's Matt Schimkowitz points out, it's impossible to know how much of his comedy routine is purely factual or based on true events. Later in the special, Davidson also admits to exaggerating some jokes for the sake of "hilarity."