Pete Davidson has a lot to get off his chest. And, no, not just the tattoos.
In a new Variety cover story and accompanying videos published Sept. 30, the comedian opened up about famous exes Kim Kardashian and Ariana Grande, discussed Ye’s harassment, took aim at influencer culture, and defended AI filmmaking. And, naturally, the internet had plenty to say about all of it.
He reflected on dating Kim Kardashian — and offered Ye some sympathy
Davidson revisited one of his most scrutinized relationships: his time with Kim Kardashian.
The two began dating after sharing a kiss in an October 2021 Saturday Night Live sketch, while she was divorcing Ye (formerly Kanye West). They split in August 2022, but Davidson says there’s still love there. “I’m one of the survivors — the few and the proud. We’re like the Marines,” he joked about men who have dated Kardashians.
He said Kardashian respected his boundaries, but the constant attention and security became overwhelming while he was dealing with mental health and substance use issues. His comments drew criticism online, with some users accusing him of portraying himself as a victim. “There he goes crying again, nobody made you date her,” said one user.
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As for Ye, who targeted Davidson on Instagram in 2022 and released an “Eazy” music video depicting a claymation version of the comedian being kidnapped and beheaded, Davidson gave a look into what exactly he faced at the time: “What tripped me out is I was super open about mental stuff — everyone knows this about me — and it’s like he was [saying], ‘Kill yourself.’ And he did push me,” Davidson said.
He added a joke that whoever Kardashian dated first would have faced Ye’s wrath: “I cleared the path for her to get back into the dating pool.”
Despite that history, Davidson expressed a surprising amount of sympathy. “He’s also lost a parent and has mental stuff, and I don’t know how he deals with it or who he has around him,” he said. Davidson added that Ye was trying to push people away, concluding: “There’s zero way he really feels like that.”
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He defended Ariana Grande against comments about her appearance
Davidson had kind words for Grande, whom he dated and was briefly engaged to in 2018. “I think Ariana’s fuckin’ cool and immensely talented and an awesome girl,” he said. “We’re not texting or whatever, but we’re cool.”
Asked about the scrutiny surrounding her appearance, he was considerably less fond of the people doing the commenting. “I don’t like it at all. It’s not cool. She’s a really strong person — I’ve witnessed it — and I don’t understand it,” Davidson said. “She knows how to handle this stuff, though. She’s been around. So she’ll be OK, but I think it’s fucked up.”
He also joked that there should be a support group for men like him and Jake Gyllenhaal, who have become the subjects of famous breakup songs. (Gyllenhal is thought to be the inspiration for Taylor Swift‘s song, All Too Well.)
He had something to say about influencers, too
In Variety’s accompanying “Ask a Local” video, Davidson mocked “get ready with me” videos and TikTok dances.
“Girls are just talking to themselves on there, and they’re like, ‘OK, come get ready with me,’ and I’m like, ‘Who the fuck are you? What do you do?’ Nothing. What the fuck is this?” He claimed creators make “$40 million a year,” (without naming anyone), and declared that “the world’s broken.”
Creators had responses. Hayley Kalil wrote: “Mind you, he does the same thing, just for a TV camera instead of a phone camera.” In Variety’s Instagram comments, Claudia Oshry, known as @girlwithnojob, wrote: “But he literally does nothing and also makes $40M….??”
“Imagine dating the biggest influencer of all time and still having these thoughts?” added Oti Mabuse. Creator @wellwithraele questioned why his criticism focused on women: “If the influencer industry was dominated by men, no one would care or have any qualms about a single thing.”
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Other responses were more supportive of Davidson’s criticism. “Pete Davidson said what everyone else was thinking,” said one user. Another called it the “right message, wrong messenger.”
He explained the AI behind his upcoming movie
Davidson also defended the use of AI for locations in Doug Liman’s upcoming thriller Bitcoin, saying it allowed the production to avoid extensive travel. “We were trying to shoot a $250 million movie,” he said. TheWrap reported that the film actually cost $70 million and used AI for settings and lighting.
Davidson stressed that the production still employed a full crew and extras, adding: “None of our performances are AI or being altered or anything.”
The cost-saving argument wasn’t winning over everyone online. “This might just be the least appealing movie of all time,” wrote one user. “Oh, they used AI? Well, guess I won’t be seeing the Gal Gadot/Pete Davidson Bitcoin movie after all,” wrote another.
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