Pete Davidson Explains His 200 Tattoos With ‘Sad Boy’ Logic — and Why He’s Removing Them for a Fresh Start
Longtime fans of Pete Davidson have been rooting for him since his early days on Saturday Night Live. Now 31, the comedian is reflecting on his twenties, including some regrets and obstacles. One of those questionable choices? Getting over 200 tattoos. Now, Davidson is revealing why he’s getting them removed.
Pete Davidson had 200 tattoos at one point and regrets most of them
Davidson appeared on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon to promote his role in Dog Man, an animated superhero comedy film based on Dav Pilkey’s titular children’s graphic novel series. After playing a word-guessing game with fellow guest Sadie Sink, Fallon sat down with Davidson to discuss the more difficult parts of his twenties.
“I noticed when we were playing Pictionary that some of your tattoos have been going away,” Fallon stated. “Yeah, I’ve been burning them off,” the SNL alum said. “They’re almost gone.” When asked if the process is painful, Davidson responded, “It’s horrible. It’s worse [than getting them]. They gotta burn off a layer of your skin, and then it has to heal for six to eight weeks, and you can’t get in the sunlight. And then you got to do it 12 more times.”
The Tonight Show audience reacted with loud groans at the thought of lasering off 200 tattoos. Davidson looked out at them and laughed, “So yeah, I mean, really think about that Game of Thrones tattoo you’re thinking of getting, alright?” The Bupkis star told Fallon that he had 200 tattoos at one point, recounting to the host, “Yeah, I was a sad boy … It was a weird time. Everybody was getting tattoos like five years ago … Post Malone was like ‘always tired'” Davidson gestured to beneath his eyes where Malone has tattoos. “I was like, ‘Yeah, me too, dude. I’m exhausted,” he laughed.
Will Pete Davidson keep any of his tattoos?
When asked if he would keep any of his tattoos, the Good Burger 2 actor said he might keep two or three. “But I’m trying to clean slate it. Trying to be an adult,” Davidson chuckled. Some of the ink he’s likely removing? Tattoos involving Winnie the Pooh, Hillary Clinton, and several alluding to his prior relationships.
The Staten Island native had several tattoos connecting to pop star Ariana Grande, including a cloud emoji, bunny mask, her initials, her last name, and the French phrase “mille tendresse.” He also got several tattoos while dating Kim Kardashian, including “My girl is a lawyer” and “KNSCP,” which fans believe referenced Kim and her children North, Saint, Chicago, and Psalm.
Davidson also visited TODAY to discuss his tattoos. He gave a more nuanced explanation for their removal. While speaking with host Savannah Guthrie, he explained, “I got sober and I saw myself in the mirror, and I was like, ‘Nah.’ I was like, ‘I need to change it up a little bit.'” The King of Staten Island actor has been open about his sobriety journey first sharing that he was sober in 2017 after struggling with marijuana use. Davidson relapsed a few times through 2018–23, visiting rehab when necessary. Now, he’s focusing on a “clean slate” mentally and physically, which includes saying goodbye to most of his tattoos.
