Pete Davidson grew from an exceptionally challenging childhood to an adult life
marred by public scrutiny. From periods in rehab to struggles with physical and mental disorders,
these are the tragic details of Davidson's life.
Pete Davidson's early life was marred by trauma in a way that few other people ever
experience. When he was only 7 years old, his father was killed during the
September 11 attacks in New York. Scott Matthew Davidson was a firefighter in the
city and was part of the response team that attended the World Trade Center.
According to eyewitness accounts, Scott was last seen running up the stairs
of the Marriott World Trade Center hotel moments before the Twin Towers collapsed,
completely destroying the building and killing almost everyone who was inside.
Scott, who graduated from the fire academy in 1994 before joining Ladder
Company 118 in Brooklyn Heights, had always dreamed of being a firefighter. He was 33
years old at the time of his death. Pete remembers him with a tattoo on his left
arm of his father's badge number alongside a replica of the helmet he wore while on duty.
Scott's influence may well have been a significant factor in Pete becoming
a comedian as an adult. As an old schoolmate of the fallen fighter recalled to the New York Post,
"Scott was always clowning around. Telling jokes, making people laugh."
Despite the tragic nature of his father's death, Davidson has dealt with the loss
with strength, even making jokes about his father's passing when appropriate.
Considering the traumatic loss of his father, it's not surprising
that Davidson didn't have the perfect childhood. The death of his father in
such a shocking way was overwhelming for the young boy, and his mother,
Amy Davidson, told the New York Times that the future-comedian's upbringing was very sad.
According to the outlet, Davidson attended three different high
schools due to conflicts with other students and his own bad behavior.
He even pulled out his own hair as a result of his emotional turmoil.
He eventually came to realize that the problem wasn't other kids — it was him. Speaking on
Peacock's talk show Hart to Heart, Davidson explained that it wasn't just his father's
death that negatively affected his childhood. The fact that his mother was a single parent and he
had a very young sister also had an effect on him despite his family being loving and supportive.
“Single mom, like, new sister. Just like, did not handle it great."
It may seem odd, but Pete Davidson credits Kid Cudi with saving his life as a child. His
mental health issues led to the youngster having suicidal thoughts, and the comedian has since
admitted that he believes that he may well have ended his own life if it wasn't for the rapper
and singer. In particular, Davidson says that the 2009 album Man on the Moon: The End of Day
saved his life. He confirmed this in an interview with Power 105.1's The Breakfast Club, saying,
"I would've killed myself. Absolutely. 100 percent. I truly believe if Man on
the Moon didn't come out, I wouldn't be here."
The comedian said the emotional nature of Kid Cudi's music struck a chord with him and many
other young people. In recent years, Kid Cudi has spoken out about his own mental health problems,
with the musician entering rehab for depression in 2016. As an adult,
Davidson has even gotten to work with his idol, and he continues to appreciate
that Kid Cudi was willing to speak so openly about his personal experiences.
Davidson was first diagnosed with Crohn's disease when he was still a teenager. Crohn's
disease is a condition where parts of the digestive system become inflamed,
causing a variety of painful symptoms, such as diarrhea, stomach cramps, and fatigue.
Once diagnosed, Crohn's disease is not curable;
patients live with it for the rest of their lives. However, available treatments can help
manage symptoms and allow those living with the disease to live relatively normal lives.
Treatments include medicines to help alleviate symptoms and also surgery to
remove small parts of the digestive system that become particularly inflamed during flare-ups.
The unpredictable nature of the condition means that it can be challenging to live with as it is
impossible to know exactly when the symptoms will occur. Davidson has been open about how
the condition affects him, telling High Times that the disease would cause him so much pain
he couldn't eat. However, he found that smoking cannabis proved a reliable solution to this issue.
"Then I'd smoke and I'd be able to eat and be able to do my shows,
and I wouldn't be able to do SNL if I didn't smoke weed."
Davidson has also spoken openly about having borderline personality disorder.
This is a condition that affects a person's thoughts and emotions,
as well as their ability to communicate with other people.
Those living with the condition will often act in a rash manner without considering the
consequences and also have trouble controlling their emotions. Exactly what causes borderline
personality disorder is unclear, although it has been linked with traumatic events.
Davidson first revealed the diagnosis during the film King of Staten Island,
and has often talked about how he struggles with regular bouts of depression. He later
said on the WTF With Marc Maron podcast that he would have, quote, "mental breakdowns" where he
would spiral into a rage and not remember. To spread awareness about mental health,
the comedian spoke up during a feature on SNL's "Weekend Update" segment, urging viewers who
may be suffering with depression or similar conditions to talk to doctors and seek help.
"First of all, if you think you're depressed,
you know, see a doctor and talk to them about medication and also be healthy."
The former SNL star has regularly checked into rehabilitation facilities to help
address his mental health. Most recently, he entered a rehab center in Pennsylvania
in 2023 for in-patient therapy as a result of his borderline personality
disorder and post-traumatic stress syndrome. As a source close to Davidson confirmed to People,
"Pete will often check himself into rehab to work on these issues."
As someone who has not been afraid to share sensitive details of his personal life,
it is not particularly surprising that Pete Davidson has been open about his addictions.
As a way of self-medicating, Davidson frequently smokes cannabis and spent two stints in rehab
facilities trying to deal with his use of the drug after blaming it for intense mood swings.
Over the course of his career, Davidson has spent time in and out of rehab,
even spending a period completely free of drugs and alcohol. As he wrote in a 2017 Instagram post,
"I quit drugs and am happy and sober for the first time in 8 years. It wasn't easy,
but I got a great girl, great friends and I consider myself a lucky man."
However, his sobriety didn't last long, and a year later he was smoking and drinking again.
Cannabis is not the only drug that has landed him in rehab, either. According to People,
during a comedy show with John Mulaney and Jon Stewart in September 2023,
he revealed that he had been taking ketamine every day for
four years before going to a rehabilitation facility. He even joked to the audience,
"I got that post-rehab glow. Seventh time's the charm!"
Like many other edgy comedians, Davidson is no stranger to controversy and has
often faced criticism for many of his jokes. During an SNL sketch in 2019,
he compared the Catholic Church to musician R. Kelly after the latter had been convicted for
crimes relating to child sex abuse. The year prior, the Roman Catholic Diocese of Brooklyn
had agreed to pay millions to settle a lawsuit alleging sexual misconduct. The
same diocese demanded an apology from the show and Davidson in response to the joke.
His Netflix special, Pete Davidson Presents: Alive From New York,
also drew condemnation from many people within the gay community for what were perceived to
be homophobic jokes. More recently, the Netflix special Pete Davidson Presents:
The Best Friends also caused controversy for jokes referencing AIDS and Jeffrey Epstein.
The comedian also famously apologized to
Republican politician Dan Crenshaw for mocking the eye patch he wears.
"You may be surprised he's a congressional candidate from Texas,
and not a hitman in a porno movie."
Sadly, Crenshaw wears the eyepatch as a result of an injury he received while on
active duty in Afghanistan. Even so, Davidson later retracted his apology to the politician.
In 2018, Davidson caused concern when he posted a cryptic message on Instagram.
In the wake of his public split with his ex-fiancée Ariana Grande, Davidson wrote,
"I'm trying to understand how when something happens to a guy
the whole entire world just trashes him without any facts or frame of reference."
He also complained that he had been bullied for nine months,
seemingly in reference to his relationship with the musician. Several days later,
police performed a welfare check after Davidson again posted on Instagram,
this time with a message suggesting he was having suicidal thoughts.
He later deleted his social media accounts altogether,
further distressing fans. However, he did continue to appear on Saturday Night Live,
though neither he nor NBC have issued a statement regarding the posts he made.
With Kim Kardashian being one of the most well-known people on the planet,
the fact that she was dating Pete Davidson made headlines around the world. This news
was further heightened due to her recent split with her ex-husband Kanye West,
who was seemingly unhappy with the pair seeing each other.
In February 2022, West launched a tirade against Davidson and even encouraged fans
to verbally harass him in public. The musician was later banned from
Instagram for 24 hours after making threatening remarks to both Davidson
and fellow comedian Trevor Noah. West continued to post about Davidson and
his relationship with Kim Kardashian months later, even after the pair eventually split.
The negative attention and threats from West took a toll on Davidson. In August 2022,
it was revealed that the comedian was in trauma therapy as a result of his
interactions with West. As a source told People,
"The attention and negativity coming from Kanye and his antics
is a trigger for [Pete], and he's had to seek out help."
Although they were no longer together, Kardashian was supportive of Davidson
seeking therapy and criticized the behavior of her ex-husband.
Davidson was one of the youngest ever cast members to join SNL,
first appearing on the show when he was just 20 years old. However,
that doesn't mean that the experience has always been enjoyable. While he's said he
is thankful for the opportunities it has given him, Davidson has also spoken out
about how he feels he has been poorly treated at times by his fellow writers and comedians.
Speaking to Charlamagne Tha God, Davidson revealed that he doesn't feel like the show has his back,
despite having a strong relationship with executive producer Lorne Michaels.
Davidson believed that when he wasn't around, his colleagues and castmates
would talk poorly of him behind his back, which upset and confused the rising star.
On Jon Bernthal's Real Ones podcast, Davidson went into more detail about
how jokes about his personal life made working on the show more difficult. He
explained that there were moments on the show where a joke would be made at his expense,
and then he'd need to walk onstage to the derisive laughter of the audience.
He stated that, over time, that began to take a toll on his own self-image.
"You know, because it seems like all really talented people are
sick. Don't worry Colin, me and you are good."
Anyone who is familiar with Pete Davidson will know that he has an
extensive number of tattoos across his entire body. These range from references
to previous girlfriends to designs by his friends like Machine Gun Kelly to pieces he
purposefully got while filming a role. The comedian even has a matching tattoo with
Miley Cyrus as the two appeared in an SNL sketch together where they played babies.
Davidson has, in recent years, begun to have many of these tattoos removed. He
explained on Late Night with Seth Meyers that this was a decision he made because
of his career in Hollywood. It takes so long to cover up the tattoos when
filming that it made more sense for the comedian to get rid of them completely.
What many people may not realize, though, is that one of the reasons that Davidson started getting
tattoos in the first place was to cover up scars from self-harm. Speaking with Charlamagne tha God,
Davidson noted that some of the tattoos on his chest specifically are there to hide
scars from cutting himself there. He also revealed that, at times,
he saw self-harm as his only option for a release while stressed, saying,
"Whenever you're so manic and upset, sometimes that's the only thing that will work for me."
Thankfully, Davidson's stints in rehab have exposed him to healthier coping
mechanisms in situations where he feels emotionally overwhelmed.