Inside “True Confessions” with John Mulaney and Pete Davidson: FBI Raids, Wild Nights, and Lorne Michaels in Jamaica

What happens when you hand two of comedy’s most unpredictable voices — John Mulaney and Pete Davidson — a couple of envelopes and ask them to lie convincingly? You get “True Confessions,” a brilliantly absurd and revealing sketch from The Tonight Show, where tall tales blur with shocking truths and laughter comes from the sheer unpredictability of what these comedians will say — or admit to — next.

In this particular installment, Mulaney and Davidson joined host Jimmy Fallon for a round of the fan-favorite game. Each of them took turns reading a confession out loud — one true, one false — while the others had 60 seconds to interrogate the reader and determine whether they were lying or telling the truth. What followed was a chaotic, hilarious, and at times unbelievable exchange filled with deadpan delivery, genuine surprise, and some hilariously bizarre life stories that somehow turned out to be real.

John Mulaney’s Cannibal Neighbor? Totally True.

Kicking things off, John Mulaney coolly announced: “My neighbor was arrested by the FBI for being a cannibal.” The room burst into laughter, but he didn’t flinch. The audience, Fallon, and Davidson were hooked. Was he serious?

Mulaney calmly described a 6 a.m. FBI raid on his New York apartment building back in 2013. “The FBI was swarming our lobby,” he said, his dry delivery making it hard to know if he was pulling their leg or just used to this kind of madness. He insisted that his neighbor had never given any indication of such gruesome inclinations. “He never said to me in the elevator, ‘Guess what — I might be a cannibal,’” Mulaney deadpanned.

Fallon and Davidson went back and forth. Pete argued it might be plausible — New York has its share of oddities. Fallon, meanwhile, leaned toward disbelief: “If it was L.A., I’d buy it. But I don’t think people are eating people here.”

But the punchline? It was true.

The story linked back to a real-life case involving the infamous “Cannibal Cop,” a former NYPD officer who was caught on message boards planning to kidnap and eat women. According to Mulaney, his neighbor had been corresponding with the Cannibal Cop and was caught in a sting operation involving an undercover FBI agent pretending to be a fellow cannibal. “We haven’t spoken since,” Mulaney concluded with perfect timing.

Fallon’s Nashville Adventure? Also True.

Next up was Jimmy Fallon, whose confession felt like a line from a country song: “I once went for a beer with a musician and woke up in a hotel room in Nashville.”

The others didn’t even bother interrogating. “It’s true,” Pete declared immediately. “I know you.” Mulaney agreed. Fallon tried to prompt them for questions, but it was clear the panel had already bought in.

Eventually, Fallon revealed that the musician in question was John Rich — one half of the country duo Big & Rich. Fallon had gone out for drinks in New York and somehow ended up crashing in Nashville. No drama. Just good old-fashioned spontaneity, likely fueled by alcohol and a little bit of rockstar charm.

“I didn’t know I was going to stay over there,” Fallon admitted. “It just ended up happening.”

Again: true.

Pete Davidson and Lorne Michaels in Jamaica? Somehow… Also True.

Then it was Pete Davidson’s turn. “Lorne Michaels and I went to Jamaica together on vacation for New Year’s,” he said. The room erupted.

“That can’t be true,” Fallon muttered. Mulaney was suspicious. “You were 20. Eight episodes into SNL. There’s no way he brought you to Jamaica for New Year’s,” he reasoned.

It sounded too bizarre — like a Saturday Night Live fever dream. Davidson, not known for playing it safe, claimed that Lorne invited him down during his first season on the show. The idea of the SNL creator vacationing with his least polished cast member was so far-fetched it had to be fake.

But Pete stuck to the story. “I stayed at a hotel 10 minutes away,” he said. “I didn’t want to be me around him.”

And yes — it turned out to be true as well.

According to Pete, Lorne randomly extended the invite and Davidson, as any 20-year-old would, enthusiastically accepted. “I was like, ‘F*** yeah, dude.’” The image of Lorne Michaels sipping rum poolside while Pete Davidson roams the Jamaican streets in search of adventure is one we didn’t know we needed — but it somehow fits perfectly into the eccentric lore of both men.

What Makes “True Confessions” So Brilliant?

The genius of this sketch lies in its simplicity and its reliance on the personalities of the guests. Mulaney’s wry, straight-faced delivery. Davidson’s unpredictable honesty. Fallon’s boyish disbelief. Put all that in a room, add some ridiculous confessions, and you have lightning in a bottle.

More than just laughs, the game works because it peels back the curtain — just a little — on celebrities we think we know. The stories might be wild, but they’re also deeply human. Who hasn’t ended up somewhere unexpected after a night out? Who hasn’t had a weird neighbor? (Okay, maybe not an actual cannibal, but still.)

By the end of the sketch, the audience is left in awe of how much truth can hide in the unbelievable — and how often the lie is actually the more reasonable option.

Final Thoughts

Comedy thrives on surprise, and True Confessions delivers surprise in spades. In just eight minutes, it managed to casually reveal that John Mulaney once lived next door to a would-be cannibal, Jimmy Fallon drank his way to Nashville with a country star, and Pete Davidson rang in the New Year with the most powerful man in sketch comedy… in Jamaica.

Truth really is stranger — and funnier — than fiction.