Dan Crenshaw, a Republican candidate running for an open congressional seat in Texas, has responded after he was mocked by “Saturday Night Live” comedian Pete Davidson for wearing an eyepatch. Crenshaw lost an eye after an IED exploded while he was serving in Afghanistan.
Davidson had said during a “Weekend Update” bit that Crenshaw looked like “a hitman in a porno movie.”
“I’m sorry, I know he lost his eye in war, or whatever,” Davidson continued.
Crenshaw took the joke in stride, tweeting Sunday morning:
“Good rule in life: I try hard not to offend; I try harder not to be offended. That being said, I hope @nbcsnl recognizes that vets don’t deserve to see their wounds used as punchlines for bad jokes.”
Later on Sunday, TMZ found Crenshaw and asked him about the SNL bit. Crenshaw didn’t demand an apology from Davidson.
“I want us to get away from this culture where we demand an apology every time someone misspeaks,” Crenshaw said. He continued:
“I think that would be very healthy for our nation to go in that direction. We don’t need to be outwardly outraged. I don’t need to demand apologies from them. They can do whatever they want, you know. They are feeling the heat from around the country right now and that’s fine.”
He then echoed his tweet, saying he hopes the comedian and SNL realize “veterans across the country probably don’t feel as though their wounds they received in battle should be the subject of a bad punch line.”
As The Daily Wire previously reported, Crenshaw is a retired lieutenant commander for the U.S. Navy, and a former Navy SEAL. He served five tours overseas. During his third tour, in Afghanistan, he was hit by the blast of an IED. He lost his right eye and damaged his left, but returned to serve after multiple surgeries.
Crenshaw retired in 2016 and has been awarded the Purple Heart, two Bronze Stars and the Navy Commendation Medal with Valor. After earning a Master’s Degree in Public Policy from Harvard University, Crenshaw moved back to his home state of Texas to run for Congress.
Crenshaw is running against Democrat Todd Litton in an open race to replace Rep. Ted Poe (R-TX), who is retiring.
Neither Davidson nor NBC has issued a formal apology to Crenshaw, although the comedian did poke fun at his own looks in the same segment in which he mocked Crenshaw.
“I shouldn’t be making fun of how anyone looks. I look like I make vape juice in a bathtub,” he said.
