Pete Davidson is having trouble booking new projects after canceling his show “Bupkis” in March 2024 for its approved second season, a source tells me. Following the cancellation, the comic voluntarily sent big payments to his co-stars — Edie Falco, Joe Pesci and Bobby Cannavale — for the work they’d lost. Now it seems Hollywood is taking a break from Davidson. His management team is trying to book him as guest-host of “SNL” to revive his career. Davidson is working on a Netflix comedy special and has small parts in some movies in post production. But when he canceled “Bupkis” he canceled himself, said my source. **** Richie McGinniss, Chief Video Director for the Daily Caller describes the fatal shooting of Joseph Rosenbaum by Kyle Rittenhouse during the trial of Kyle Rittenhouse on November 4, 2021 in Kenosha, Wisconsin. (Mark Hertzberg-Pool/Getty Images) Richie McGinniss is lucky to be alive. The 35-year-old video reporter has covered violent Black Lives Matter and MAGA demonstrations and says he was nearly shot by Kyle Rittenhouse in Kenosha, Wisconsin, in 2020. His self-published memoir “Riot Diet” out this month explains how he became a political lightning rod after testifying at Rittenhouse’s murder trial. “I interviewed Rittenhouse 13 minutes before the shooting,” McGinniss told me. “I saw him fire four shots in seven seconds.” Two men died and another was wounded. “Kyle Rittenhouse was turned into either a hero or a white supremacist.” McGinniss, who voted for Obama twice, testified at Rittenhouse’s murder trial, which ended in acquittal. Kyle Rittenhouse enters the courtroom to hear the verdicts in his trial prior to being found not guilty on all counts at the Kenosha County Courthouse on November 19, 2021 in Kenosha, Wisconsin. (Sean Krajacic – Pool/Getty Images) “Just by being there, you become part of the story,” McGinniss said. Armed with only cellphones, McGinniss and his squad use the power of internet video to place viewers directly among the demonstrators and police. In “Riot Diet,” McGinniss hopscotches from the Memorial Day riots in front of the White House after the death of George Floyd, to the clash of guards and Proud Boys in Seattle’s Capitol Hill Autonomous Zone (CHAZ). His videos were posted to Twitter, Facebook, YouTube and Instagram — racking up tens of millions of views. “There’s a big difference between seeing something on your phone and living it firsthand,” McGinniss said. “You have to know when to run and when to stand your ground … I usually just ran.” **** Michael McCarty attends the opening of the new Chrome Hearts Gallery & Cafe to celebrate their 3-Year Anniversary in the Miami Design District on December 5, 2017 in Miami, Florida. (Dimitrios Kambouris/Getty Images for Chrome Hearts) Bette Midler called Michael McCarty “the best host in the world.” Martha Stewart said the secret to his restaurant Michael’s on West 55th Street is “the camaraderie and also the Salad Nicoise.” They were jammed on Wednesday night as the joint celebrated its 35th anniversary. “It’s a party everyday,” said film guru Sandy Kenyon. The restaurant’s manager Steve Millington explained that the place “knows New York and New Yorkers.” And how to make them feel special. He once took Joan Rivers’ fur coat and — instead of checking it — wore it around the restaurant in an impromptu fashion show. ABC Radio’s Mark Simone said, “They introduce everybody to everybody. Michael is like a headhunter, a matchmaker, it’s like a family and the Cobb Salad is great.” Publicists love this place. Ana Martins said, “It’s all about the media. They’re all here all the time.” McCarty barely budged from the front door, greeting well-wishers with wife and artist Kim. He looked around the packed room and sighed, “We just have great clients.” Here’s to 35 more. **** “Boop!” the Betty Boop musical. “Boop!” the Betty Boop musical arrives on Broadway at the end of April. “I played the title character,” deadpans costar Erich Bergen. “I’m the exclamation point. I’m tall, loud and very particular about punctuation.” It was all part of his funny stage banter as the emcee for The Critic’s Choice Documentary Awards last Sunday night at the Edison Ballroom. Fans in the audience included Jerry Seinfeld, Chelsea Clinton, Rory Kennedy, Ali Wentworth and Jeremy Piven whose new movie “The Performance” screened for media this week at the Soho House. “I’m very proud of it,” the former “Entourage” star said. The as-yet-unreleased film — adapted from an Arthur Miller short story and directed by Piven’s sister Shira — is about a Jewish entertainer conflicted about performing for Nazis in 1936. It’s a long way from Ari Gold. “It’s the best performance of my career because this character goes through more than any character I’ve ever played,” Piven said. **** Former first lady Melania Trump looks on as President-elect Donald Trump speaks during an election night event at the Palm Beach Convention Center on November 06, 2024 in West Palm Beach, Florida. (Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images) Melania Trump isn’t just saying no to Dr. Jill Biden’s invitation to tea at the White House. The once and future First Lady has already made it perfectly clear to her husband and his transition team that she won’t be on call around the clock. Melania is going to be a part-time First Lady and she’s only going to do it “on her own terms.” While she is looking forward to welcoming French President Emmanuel Macron and his wife Brigitte to D.C. and helping her husband host important state dinners, everything on her calendar will need to be cleared by her personally. “No one’s going to be making Melania’s schedule but Melania,” said one insider. She and the President have already agreed that she’s free to spend as much time at Trump Tower in Manhattan safeguarding their son Barron as she feels necessary. “Being a mother is at the top of her agenda,” said my source. She is currently vetting her White House staff which will be very small. Melania was burned by her former senior advisor Stephanie Winston Wolkoff, who betrayed her every confidence in “Melania & Me” released in 2020. Melania is going to be holding all her cards tightly to her chest and her lawyers have already drawn up extensive NDAs for everyone that she will come in contact with. If you want to know what Melania is thinking, she tells acquaintances to read her book “Melania” which was released in October. **** Julianne Moore (Gareth Cattermole/Getty Images for BFI) Julianne Moore was on the Salon Art+Design Fair’s committee at the Park Avenue Armory’s opening night which benefited the Dia Art Foundation. Starchitect Peter Marino, Candace Bushnell, attorney Jason Goldman, Robert Couturier, Aby Rosen, Nicole Miller, Francisco Costa and Lizzie and Jonathan Tisch were among the collectors seen walking the aisles. Glamorous Isabelle Bscher’s Galerie Gmurzynska was the talk of the fair. Her booth featured rare works by French sculptor Henri Laurens and Hungarian photographer László Moholy-Nagy. Also making the scene was Huma Abedin, who is now engaged to Alexander Soros, the son of billionaire George Soros. The brunette is now acting more like an uptown trophy wife than a working mom married to disgraced politician Anthony Weiner. Long known as Hillary Clinton’s BFF, she now sports blazing diamonds instead of briefing books as she makes all the right stops on the city’s philanthropic and cultural circuits. Abedin was seen inquiring about a $38k white couch with a marble base at Maison Gerard. **** For those glum that Saks Fifth Avenue sacked its holiday sound and light show, take heart. The lighting of the Fifth Avenue Snowflake at 57th Street is happening on Friday, Nov. 22, at 6 p.m. thanks to George and Christine Stonbely and the Fifth Avenue Association. Special guests of honor will be chef Daniel Boulud, chair of City Meals on Wheels, and Metropolitan Opera soprano Angel Blue. **** Mariska Hargitay (Eugene Gologursky/Getty Images for Town & Country) Mariska Hargitay, the star of “Law & Order SVU,” showed she not only has flair for the dramatic, but a comedic side as well while being honored at the Hope for Depression Research Foundation Luncheon at the Plaza Hotel. After an introduction by Audrey Gruss, the organization’s founder, Hargitay said, “Thank God I have an honorary doctorate from John Jay College because otherwise I’d be really super insecure right now with all these doctors in the room.”