Even among people on the inside, mystery surrounds Pete Davidson’s exit from Jeff Bezos’ Blue Origin space flight.
Multiple sources told Page Six the “Saturday Night Live” comic had been in training for the flight, which was originally set for March 23.
But Blue Origin announced Thursday night that the date of the flight had moved and Davidson would no longer be part of the excursion.
“Blue Origin’s 20th flight of New Shepard has shifted to Tuesday, March 29. Pete Davidson is no longer able to join the NS-20 crew on this mission,” a company tweet read. “We will announce the sixth crew member in the coming days.”
One source told Page Six: “I know that Pete has been training for the flight, I’m not sure what happened.”
Another insider added: “As with previous flights, there are always issues with weather conditions. Before Michael Strahan’s flight, they shifted launch by about a week due to the wind. So there is always this [possibility], and Pete would have known that.
“I know the party line is that it’s a filming clash, but I’m not too sure.”
Davidson is currently filming a horror movie, “The Home” and was this week pictured covered in fake blood on the Morris County, NJ, set.
He’s also missed “SNL” for the past few weeks after being given permission by boss Lorne Michaels to take time off for filming, we’re told.
Davidson has been openly feuding online with girlfriend Kim Kardashian’s ex, Kanye West. However, a source who knows the Kardashians told us the comedian’s exit from the space flight has nothing to do with any family drama, adding: “Pete has been open about standing up for Kim, and there is no strain behind the scenes that has taken its toll on him. He really seems like he’s in a good place.”
A rep for Davidson was unavailable for comment.
The rest of the Blue Origin crew that was to fly with Davidson includes Party America CEO Marty Allen; philanthropist and real estate mogul Marc Hagle and his wife, Sharon Hagle; University of North Carolina professor Jim Kitchen; and Dr. George Nield, president of Commercial Space Technologies. The excursion will mark the fourth human flight launched by the private aerospace company, and its 20th in total.
