Pete Davidson has revealed he was 'forced to apologize' for poking fun at Congressman Dan Crenshaw's appearance during an episode of Saturday Night Live. 

The comedian caused controversy in November 2018 for joking that Crenshaw - a veteran who lost his right eye in an IED blast in Afghanistan - looked like 'a hitman in a free hot porno pictures movie'. 

Davidson, 26, subsequently said sorry for the gag when he appeared alongside Crenshaw, 35, in the following week's episode of SNL. 

But in his new Netflix special, Alive From New York, the funnyman says he wasn't really interested in apologizing for making fun of the wounded veteran's looks. 

'I got in trouble last year because I was making some jokes,' he states in the special. 

'I didn't think I did anything wrong.

It was like words that were twisted so that a guy could be famous... So I made fun of this guy with an eye patch and then, like, I kind of got forced to apologize.' 

'People were like, 'You hate America!' And I'm like, 'No, I just didn't want to be incorrect about how he lost his f---ing eye,' he continues. 

'My roommate thought I should apologize so that I didn't get shot in the face'.

Crenshaw, who serves as a House Representative for Texas' 2nd Congressional District, hit back at Davidson in an interview with Fox and Friends on Friday.  

'It's like our comedic careers are joined at the hip because he can't stop thinking about me.

It's a little sad, ' he tartly told the cable news channel.  

But the Congressman said he wasn't going to let the incident get him down, and would continue to think back fondly on their joint appearance on SNL. 

'We had a really good moment, you know, at that time in 2018.

America liked it. The left and right liked it. So, you know, we don't really want to ruin that.'

'To be fair, if we took everything that comedians said on a Netflix special seriously, man our country would be in a world of hurt.

I would like to remember the guy that I saw in person and hung out with that night. ' 

During that appearance on SNL with Davidson, Crenshaw ended his segment with an appeal for civility in the nation's discourse.

'There's a lot of lessons to learn here,' Crenshaw stated.

'Not just that the left and right can agree on some things, but also this - Americans can forgive one another.'

'We can remember what brings us together as a country and still see the good in each other. It's a good time for every American to connect with a veteran'.

'Maybe thanks for your service, but I would encourage you to say something else: 'Never forget'.

'When you say 'never forget' to a veteran, you are implying that as an American, you are in it with them, not separated by some imaginary barrier between civilians and veterans, but connected together as grateful fellow Americans.

'Never forget the sacrifices made by veterans past and present.

'And never forget those we lost on 9/11, heroes like Pete's father.

'So I'll just say: 'Pete, never forget'.'

Davidson, whose father, Scott Davidson, was a New York City firefighter who died in the September 11 terrorist attacks, replied: 'Never forget.'

'And that is for both of us,' Davidson stated as the pair shook hands.