REBOOT

Pete Davidson Reveals Dark Reason He Covered His Body in Tattoos

The “SNL” alum said he doesn’t want this particular “reminder” about his past.

Pete Davidson is systematically removing his tattoos to “start fresh” and avoid the “reminder” that he was “a f---ing drug addict,” he revealed Wednesday.

The Saturday Night Live alum got a little darker as he told Variety why he’s enduring the long process to remove his more than 200 tattoos. “When I look in the mirror, I don’t want the reminder of ‘Oh yeah, you were a f---ing drug addict,” he told the site. “Like, that’s why you have SpongeBob smoking a joint on your back.’”

The comedian has opened up before about the mental health toll he faced amid his high-profile romantic relationships with celebs, like Kim Kardashian, Ariana Grande, and more—and how that intensified his struggles with drugs.

“I used to be a drug addict and I was a sad person, and I felt ugly and that I needed to be covered up,” he explained, “So I’m just removing them and starting fresh.” He’s often cited social media and tabloid fixation on his dating life as primary reasons that his rise to fame on SNL from 2014 to 2022 had a lot of dark periods. He’s since left all social media platforms.

“Everyone is dating everyone and it’s Hollywood,” he told Page Six in February, “Look at Paul Mescal, Timmy [Chalamet], Barry Keoghan. But because I’m ugly, they wrote about me. I was harassed for like five years and it made my life a living hell.”

“You just have this thing in your pocket all day that will make you feel bad,” he told Variety. “We’re not supposed to see everyone’s s--t all day.”

After Davidson split with Kardashian, who was still married but separated from disgraced rapper Kanye West at the beginning of their relationship, the public saw firsthand how social media became a toxic place for Davidson. Sources told People he sought trauma therapy after months of online harassment from West. “Kids today, they don’t even have a f---ing shot” at escaping social media anxiety, he added Wednesday. “I just hope it changes and enough people revert backwards a little bit.”

In the meantime, now that he’s gotten rid of the external pressure of social media (and started dating a non-celebrity), Davidson believes removing the “reminders” of his past on his body will help him start over. “That’s what I think works best for me and for my brain,” he said, though he added the actual process isn’t great.

“It’s like putting your arm on a grill and burning off a layer,” he concluded. “It sucks, I’m not gonna lie.”

Eboni Boykin-PattersonEntertainment Reporter

Got a tip? Send it to The Daily Beast here.